Book Review: Fortunately, the milk by Neil Gaiman

Hello, all!
I was very excited when I received this book in my last book order, and I must say I was not disappointed!
This is a story of a father - a father who must get some milk from the corner store after his children realize they are out.  They MUST have their breakfast, and it MUST be cereal! (The father also realized that if there were no milk for the children's cereal, there would also be no milk for his tea, and that would be a complete and total travesty!)
The children wait....and wait...and wait.  When he finally returns, he explains why it took him so long to get the milk.  He has just returned from an adventure through time with a dinosaur in a hot air balloon (which, we discover, is actually called a "Floaty-Ball-Person-Carrier").  He has encountered all manner of creatures including, but not limited to, aliens, pirates, and piranhas (although the last group is certainly suspect, since the father did not give a rational explanation as to how he came to cross their path).And fortunately, he had the milk, which is the quintessential piece in his extraordinary adventure.  Without it, he would not have survived - in fact, the whole world was at stake!
This book was fantastic! Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller (very much like the father in the book), and the illustrations by Skottie Young gave the book a great whimsical feel.  My kiddos that have enjoyed A tale dark and Grimm, Origami Yoda, and Diary of a wimpy kid will find this an enjoyable read.  Two thumbs up!

The hostage prince by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

In this first installment of the Seelie Wars, Yolen and Stemple introduce us to the main characters that we will follow in the trilogy.  Aspen is a Seelie prince living as a hostage in the Unseelie court, his freedom is the price paid to prevent a war between the two.  Snail is a midwife apprentice with a mysterious past (I am sure we will learn more about that later).  The unlikely pair are on the run after circumstances beyond their control cause the two countries to be at war.  They must escape dungeons and traverse the wild countryside, encountering trolls and merfolk on their way to Aspen's homeland and freedom - or so they hope.

This book was a good introduction to the characters and world of the Seelie and Unseelie.  However, it was plainly an introduction.  The action really does not begin until two thirds of the way through the book, and by then I had already begun to lose interest.  I like series, in fact I LOVE series, but I love it more when the books can stand alone and make a good story - especially the first in the set.  If the first set is nothing but setup for the rest of the series, I feel a little disappointed.  And that was this book.  It was a setup, and it was discouraging to read.  I wanted to love it - I love Yolen and I love series, but this one missed the mark for me.