Fortunately, the Milk...

Fortunately, the Milk... is the unexpected adventure of a father who steps out to buy some milk. He meets all sorts of characters: pirates, vampires, angry volcano gods, aliens and a really cool dinosaur.

The story is fast-paced and compels you to keep turning the pages till you reach the end. There's action on almost every page and the illustrations just jump out of the page (even though the copy I have is not in colour). The characters are larger than life. All these elements combined make the story feel so alive and vibrant. It's great for reading aloud to your child, though I wouldn't recommend it as a bedtime story. Your kids will probably be bouncing off the walls instead of settling down to sleep.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and found myself reading certain parts aloud. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
First published in 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Age range: 7 to 9 years old

NA's rating: 4.5/5

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book is a coming-of-age tale full of danger and hope. It is the story of Nobody Owens, known as Bod to his friends, a boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard.

The story is wonderfully written and has all the elements needed for a brilliant tale: the theme of good versus evil, a protagonist with a tragic past, interesting and enigmatic characters, supernatural elements and exciting adventures. I could not put the book down and had to read it through to the end in one sitting! Neil Gaiman is a masterful storyteller and he always does a superb job of writing stories with themes as old as memory yet are still really modern and relatable. His stories are usually rather dark, so I would recommend this to young readers who enjoy fantasy and the macabre.

I love this book. 5 out of 5 stars!


Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
First published in 2008 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Age range: 11 to 14 years old

NA's rating: 5/5