Fortunately, Unfortunately

PreS-Gr 2—A boylike monkey (or monkeylike boy?) is given a task by his mother. "Granny has left her umbrella here. Can you take it to her house, please?" So begins Milo's great adventure filled with setbacks and serendipity. The journey begins innocently enough. "Fortunately, it was a lovely day... Unfortunately a dark cloud appeared....Fortunately, he had Granny's umbrella...." But soon Milo finds himself fighting off unfriendly pirates inside the belly of a whale, standing face-to-face with wild dinosaurs inside a volcano, and being captured by aliens. At last he arrives at Grandma's house with her umbrella looking a little the worse for wear, but filled with pirate treasure. Unfortunately, the pirates have tracked Milo down, and readers are left to imagine what further adventures might ensue. Foreman's narrative carries the "fortunately, unfortunately" trope throughout. With only one or two sentences per page, listeners will easily follow the unfolding story line. Such a convoluted chain of events could easily be weighed down by visually cluttered illustrations, but Foreman employs a light touch with his bright watercolors, and the eye follows exactly where it needs to go. Regrettably, Milo himself is rendered in a slightly different style on every page, and the effect is mildly off-putting. Still, those adventure-minded youngsters who pine for a life with more pirates, dinosaurs, and aliens will appreciate this work, though teachers introducing the "fortunately, unfortunately" style in writing assignments may wish to stick with Remy Charlip's classic, Fortunately (Scholastic, 1964). Purchase as a supplement to larger collections.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI