Twenty Nine. Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman
2014, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 106 pages. Written in English, read in English.
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Technically, this is a children’s book. But then again, it’s also a Neil Gaiman book, and who else would be qualified to ascertain that we are all, to some extent, still children, and when Neil Gaiman weaves a tale of why he was delayed getting the milk from the grocery store for his children’s breakfast cereal when their mother left for a conference and left him in charge, we are all ears.
Because this is Neil Gaiman, the story of why he’s been delayed involves aliens wishing to renovate the Earth, a time travelling dinosaur, an angry volcano god, pirates and some vampires (wumpires, in fact), including one moody, misunderstood one. And ponies.
The whole thing, being intended to be a children’s book, clocks in at a little over 100 pages, but they are probably the most joyous 100 pages you will ever get to read about a father’s journey to the grocery store to get milk for his children.
An important note — I’ve read the British version of the book, which has been heavily and expertly illustrated by Chris Riddell — and his illustrations are at least half of the reason this book is so entertaining.
