Fortunately, the Milk

The book is written in the first-person from the young boy’s perspective. The boy does not share his name or age, or that of his younger sister, but the illustrations and references to their afterschool activities suggest that they are elementary school-aged. The boy refers to his mother and father as “my mum” and “my dad,” never using their names.

The first section of the book provides insight into the family dynamics. The boy’s mother is likely in academia (she is attending a conference on lizards) and keeps track of the household schedule. She is organized and leaves labeled frozen meals for the children. In contrast, the father is more hands-off and spontaneous. He enjoys reading his paper, and rather than figure out how to reheat the meals made by the mom, he takes the kids out for dinner. He forgets to buy milk, underscoring his laid back, head-in-clouds nature.

The overall impression is that of a happy family. The young boy gently teases his sister about her violin playing, but reassures her when she worries about their father taking so long to get the milk: “I expect he just ran into one of his friends at the corner shop […] and they got talking and he lost track of time” (10)—which is exactly what happens.

In this section, Gaiman explores The Parent-Child Relationship. The father is the story’s protagonist. He is fun but can be self-serving. It is only when he realizes that there is no milk for his tea—“He had his ‘no tea’ face” (6)—that he stops considering milk-free options for breakfast and goes to get milk. On his return, rather than apologize for taking so long, he tells his children a fantastical story of what happened to him, turning the mundane task of shopping for milk (and stopping for a chat) into an adventure. The father is both selfish and generous; he shows a tendency to put himself first but gives his children much happiness through the creativity of his storytelling.

The father’s imaginative prowess is illustrated by the children’s rapt attention throughout his tale, despite being hungry for breakfast. Through their interest, Gaiman illustrates The Power of Storytelling.

The concept of aliens remodeling the earth is lighthearted, but it could also convey a more sinister message about how humans are “remodeling” Earth to suit their needs. The plans for the aliens’ remodel are detailed later in the book and mirror the human love of plastic and trinkets.

The story has dramatic, life-threatening moments but maintains a comic tone. The father is faced with angry aliens and pirates but isn’t scared, even going as far as instructing the pirates how to build the plank he will walk on. This technique keeps his adventure appropriately light for his young children—as well as Gaiman’s young readers—without losing tension. Drama builds before each time jump or transition. The aliens threaten to make the father “miserable” just before he jumps through the space-time continuum, and he faces “certain death” on the plank right before Steg rescues him.

During each dramatic event in his story, the milk remains the focus. The milk’s safety is prefaced with “Fortunately,” followed by wherever it is stashed. For example: “Fortunately, I had put the milk into my coat pocket” (12); “Fortunately, I had kept tight hold of the milk” (16). The throughline of the milk gives the story’s distinct episodes continuity.

Professor Steg, the story’s hero, is introduced as an inventor with a “deep, booming voice” (24). Based on her personal characteristics, the father assumes that Steg is male. This shows how one can make stereotyped assumptions about gender, stereotypes which the book later debunks.