Genre: Middle Grade, comedy
Published on September 17, 2013
Published by HarperCollins
Pages: 114
Read From: 7.8.14 - 7.8.14
SYNOPSIS
"I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: T h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road.
" 'Hullo,' I said to myself. 'That's not something you see every day.' And then something odd happened."
Find out just how odd things get in this hilarious story of time travel and breakfast cereal, expertly told by Newbery Medalist and bestselling author Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Skottie Young.
Review
Can you believe that this is only my second Neil Gaiman novel? Sad, isn't it? Anyway, onto the actual review. Fortunately, the Milk is an adorable, hilarious, fast-paced Middle Grade read full of oddities and whimsy. Two kids and their typical dad have been left for the weekend to fend for themselves - without Mum! Even with detailed instructions, their dad forgets something - he forgets to buy the milk. So when the kids wake up to a morning of dry cereal, their dad has to go buy some milk. And what an adventure it turns into!
He's gone for hours, and when Dad finally turns out with milk in hand, his kids are sure he got distracted. But their dad instead concocts a wild tale of alien abduction, time travel, and the fate of the Universe to explain why he was so late with the milk. It doesn't make much sense, as their dad adds twist after twist, and the tale gets wilder and wilder. But it's cute, and it's fun. Any kid out there will relate to the feeling of "parent excuses," and any parent out there will relate to - well, "parent excuses."
After their dad faces blobby green aliens that want to remodel Earth, pirates, a terrifying volcano god, and wumpires (which led to a little jab at Twilight that delighted me to no end), he finally makes it home - with the milk. The whole reason this crazy adventure started in the first place. Even better, the book ends with letting the Reader wonder: Was Dad telling the truth after all?!
Ah, I need to read this! I've only (completely) read one other Gaiman book, too, but this sounds awesome, and I bet Skottie Young's illustrations are a perfect match. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's an expensive little book, but I suppose you're paying for the author name as well. It's a lot of fun; a must for any Neil Gaiman collection.
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