Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk: A Review & A Competition

Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk is the charming tale of what happens when Dad gets waylaid on the way home from the shops, to which he went to pick up some milk.

Somehow between the shops and home, Dad manages to find himself travelling through time with a dinosaur in a hot air balloon, moving through time and space, and fending off a tribe of natives, a family of vampires and a gaggle of aliens!

It truly is treacherous on the way home from the shops.

You know he's just run into a neighbour, stopped for a chat and lost track of time, but that's far less enjoyable than dinosaurs, time travel and world saving milk!

The interludes from the children are especially lovely, as they patiently and attentively listen to their father's long-winded excuse for being delayed.

The writing is quintessentially Gaiman, by which I mean thoroughly English, and pleasantly whimsical. Gaiman has such a great command of language, making Fortunately, the Milk almost lyrical in expression and a joy to read.

The illustrations are beautifully detailed, and quite mature for a children's book, or at least compared to what I remember from children's books when I was younger.

Presented in black and white, Chris Riddell's illustrations compliment the story as it is being told, with the text printed in and around many of the drawings. I particularly liked the portraits of characters staring out from the book and drawing readers in.

Funny how Dad looks just like Neil Gaiman himself!

The result is that you can't help but smile reading Fortunately, the Milk, be you grown up or child.

As someone who is lactose intolerant, I thoroughly recommend Fortunately, the Milk, and although it's aimed at kids in the 8-12 age range, I don't see anything wrong with having a few great children's books tucked away in a grown up bookshelf.

-Stevie O'C

Thanks to the lovely people at Bloomsbury, we have a copy of Neil Gaiman's Fortunately, the Milk, to give away! Yay!

All you have to do is fill out the form below and you're in with a chance! And don't forget to share the love on Twitter or Facebook. Good luck! *Fine print below the form.

Competition closed! Congrats to our winner and thanks to everyone who entered!

The fine print: Entries close 11.59pm on Friday 13 December 2013. Your details will not be used for any purpose other than for the delivery of your prize. Hopscotch Friday and Bloomsbury Publishing do not take any responsibility for the damage to, loss or delay of prizes sent to winners - unfortunately, that's in the hands of Australia Post. The decision of judges is final and no correspondence will be entered upon. One entry per person. Any subsequent entries will be void. Incorrect answers are void. Prizes are not redeemable for cash or any other currency. This competition is open to Australian residents only. Any comments or queries should be submitted via the contact form or in the comments below.