Go the F**k to Sleep [Hardcover]

Adam Mansbach (Author), Ricardo Cortés (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2011

"Nothing has driven home a certain truth about my generation, which is approaching the apex of its childbearing years, quite like this."
--The New Yorker

"A parenting zeitgeist"
--Washington Post

"A hilarious take on that age-old problem: getting the beloved child to go to sleep."
--National Public Radio

"A new Bible for weary parents"
--New York Times

"Resonates powerfully with almost everyone"
--Boston Globe

"Go the F*** to Sleep challenges stereotypes, opens up prototypes, and acknowledges that shared sense of failure that comes to all parents who weary of ever getting their darling(s) to sleep and briefly resuming the illusion of a life of their own."
--Midwest Book Review

Go the F*** to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don't always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Profane, affectionate, and radically honest, California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach's verses perfectly capture the familiar--and unspoken--tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, they open up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations, and laugh at their absurdity.

With illustrations by Ricardo Cortes, Go the F*** to Sleep is beautiful, subversive, and pants-wettingly funny--a book for parents new, old, and expectant. You probably should not read it to your children.

Seriously, Just Go to Sleep, a children's book inspired by Go the F*** to Sleep and appropriate for kids of all ages, is forthcoming from Akashic Books in April 2012 and available NOW for pre-order.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"* 'Total genius.' - Jonathan Lethem, father of two, author of MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN * 'A children's book for grown-ups! I really did laugh out loud-hilarious!' - David Byrne, father of one, musician, artist * 'This is the most honest children's book ever written. And it's f*cking hilarious.' - A.J. Jacobs, father of three, author of THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY * 'I wish this book had been around during my daughter's overly protracted sleep rituals! Finally, someone tells it like it really is. This is no-guilt funny and a godsend!' - Cristina Garcia, mother of one, author of THE LADY MATADOR'S HOTEL * 'Go the Fuck to Sleep is the secret anthem of tired parents everywhere. Adam Mansbach's homage to the tropes of bedtime stories is pitch perfect, and Ricardo Cortes's stunning illustrations will keep grown-ups and kids alike returning to these pages again and again!' - Bliss Boyard, author of ONE DROP: MY FATHER'S HIDDEN LIFE" --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Adam Mansbach's novels include The End of the Jews, winner of the California Book Award, and the best-selling Angry Black White Boy, a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2005. His fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Believer, Granta, the Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. He was the 2010-2011 New Voices Professor of Fiction at Rutgers University. His daughter, Vivien, is three.

Ricardo Cortes has illustrated books about marijuana, electricity, the Jamaican bobsled team, and Chinese food. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, the Village Voice, the San Francisco Chronicle, and on the O'Reilly Factor and CNN. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he is working on a book about the history of Coca-Cola and cocaine. To see more of his work, visit: Rmcortes.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books; 1st edition (June 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781617750250
• ISBN-13: 978-1617750250
• ASIN: 1617750255
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (952 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Limericks & Humorous Verse
  • #2 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Parodies
  • #2 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Pop Culture > Art

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

673 of 724 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great laugh at one of the biggest frustrations of parenting June 2, 2011

By M. Patel

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I had the pleasure of reading a promotional copy of Go the F*#k to Sleep as did many other people it seems. Immediately after finishing, I knew I had to come onto Amazon and pre-order this book. I haven't read anything else by Adam Mansbach before, but this introduction has me hooked. As the father of 2 children, I've more than once screamed the title of this book in my own head. I've never actually shared these thoughts with anyone other than my wife, so it's good to finally know that this not-quite-inappropriate rage isn't unique to me.

In this small book, Mr. Mansbach has illuminated and put into perspective one of the greatest frustrations everyone faces in the first few years as a parent -- putting their child to sleep. I honestly can't imagine a non-parent getting much enjoyment out of this book. I feel the humor lays purely within having experienced firsthand the adventure of putting a child to sleep every day for weeks . . . months . . . and years. If anything, I'd think some people would be horrified by the fact that parents would not only identify with the situation presented, but have said the title of this book many, many, many times. The reality is that we all regularly have angry thoughts we would never say aloud (in both social and professional situations). Thinking these thoughts can be a way of coping with displeasing situations -- of de-stressing.

The contrast between Mr. Mansbach's brutally honest and wonderfully lyrical prose and Mr. Cortes' beautifully genuine paintings creates another level of hilarity. Richard Cortes' artwork in these pages is so sincere and sublime that I truly believe a non-English reader who picked up this book would have no idea it was meant for adults.

I was ultimately astounded that Go the F**k to Sleep proved to be a near-cathartic experience for me. In the few weeks since I've read this book, I've found that putting my children to sleep isn't nearly as disheartening as the task had been before. Rather, when my son now asks me for a fifth stuffed animal and "Where mommy?" for the tenth time, a smile creeps onto my face just thinking of this book. This book has allowed me to not only laugh at my children's ingenuity and endurance at avoiding bedtime, but at my annoyance at the whole farce as well.

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Er, folks... October 22, 2011

By Avital Pilpel

Format:Hardcover

... just a note to outraged parents: this is not a children's book, it is a *parody* of children's book. It should not be read to children, but it is not *intended* to be read to children.

No doubt some book sellers, dealing with many books every day and misled by the cover (which covers up the f-word), put this book in the children's section. But I've seen book stores with Flaubert's "Sentimental Education" in education book, or Pirsing's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" in the "automotive maintenance" section. That is not the author's fault.

The book itself is quite amusing, although, like most children's books, which it copies, quite short. As for the price, quite apart from supply and demand, like with "real" children's books, you are not, really, paying for the text -- it is too short for that (as most children's books are) -- but for the artwork and the production value, which are both very good.

Whether it is worth the price is a personal issue. Some people will be greatly amused and would enjoy it as a conversation piece. Some people will think it's very overpriced. But I am just noting that much of the criticism of this book in the reviews (that is corrupts children, that it is overpriced because it is short, etc.) is just not to the point.

117 of 128 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This made my day! June 14, 2011

By epl

Format:Audible Audio Edition

I can't imagine anyone more qualified to do the audio version of this book than Samuel L Jackson. It's genius. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. I highly recommend this to anyone, especially someone who has struggled with a small child at bedtime.