Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman [Illustrated by Skottie Young]

"We have come to your planet from a world very far away," said the people in the disc.
I call them people, but they were a bit green and rather glob by and they looked very grumpy indeed.
"Now, as a representative of your species, we demand that you give us ownership of the whole planet. We are going to remodel it."
"I jolly well won't," I said.

I first heard about Fortunately, the Milk when I went to go see Neil Gaiman at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas. He spoke a little about the book and its preparations, then announced that he would read from it, though that wasn't something he had previously planned to do that night. He claimed the theatre was so beautiful that it merited a second reading (as he had read from The Ocean at the End of the Lane just an hour earlier).

I immediately fell in love with what little of it I had the opportunity to hear and knew I would have to set out to buy it the moment it was out for readers to get their hands on. And that was exactly what I did.

When their father goes out to get his children some milk for their cereal, the young siblings assume that he is taking his sweet time because he ran into an old friend and had forgotten the time, as he was apt to do. However, upon his return, their father his a strange tale for them. He hadn't just gotten caught up with an old friend, he had traveled through time and space, fought wumpires and kept volcanoes from erupting, all while traveling with a very clever dinosaur and doing his best to keep the milk safe. The children roll their eyes at their father's tall tale when it begins, but it isn't long before he's sucked them into the story of how he saved the world and nearly ended it, but fortunately managed to deliver the milk.

Neil Gaiman is one hell of a creator and this whimsical and adventurous children's book is no exception. He weaves his way through a masterful tale that will have you hooked from beginning to end and keep you laughing along the way.

The illustrations riddled throughout the pages add to the story in ways that cannot be described. They perfectly compliment the text and add that next level of adventure and excitement to the page that needs to be experienced visually. Skottie Young and Neil Gaiman were a perfect team up on this venture and I hope to see them work together again in the future.

All in all, this was a lovely book and I would recommend it to readers of all ages. In fact, as soon as I finished it, I immediately purchased a copy for my nieces and nephew and it will absolutely be one of those books that will be a common theme in this year's Christmas presents. I hope they make an appearance in yours as well!

I was out at the end of the plank, facing certain death, when a rope ladder hit my shoulder and deep booming voice shouted, "Quickly! Climb up the rope ladder!"