Most Popular Books by Adam Mansbach

The #1 New York Times Bestseller: “A hilarious take on that age-old problem: getting the beloved child to go to sleep” (NPR). “Hell no, you can’t go to the bathroom. You know where you can go? The f**k to sleep.” Go the Fuck to Sleep is a 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, it captures the familiar—and unspoken—tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. Read by a host of celebrities, from Samuel L. Jackson to Jennifer Garner, this subversively funny bestselling storybook will not actually put your kids to sleep, but it will leave you laughing so hard you won’t care.

The G-rated, child-friendly version of the hilarious #1 New York Times bestselling classic! Go the F*** to Sleep, the picture book for adults, became a cultural sensation by striking a universal chord for parents (with a bit of potty-mouth language to help them vent their frustration). Now, Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortés reunite with Seriously, Just Go to Sleep, inviting the children themselves in on the joke. Of course, kids are well aware of how difficult they can be at bedtime. With Mansbach’s new child-appropriate narrative, kids will recognize their tactics, giggle at their own mischievousness, and empathize with their parents’ struggles—a perspective most children’s books don’t capture. Most importantly, it provides a common ground for children and their parents to talk about one of their most stressful daily rituals. This fresh rendition includes Cortés’s updated illustrations, with a cameo appearance by Samuel L. Jackson, who narrated the audio book version of Go the F*** to Sleep

A gift book for parents that will have them laughing even as they cry.

The ruthlessly engrossing and beautifully rendered story of the Brodskys, a family of artists who realize, too late, one elemental truth: Creation’s necessary consequence is destruction. Each member of the mercurial clan in Adam Mansbach’s bold new novel faces the impossible choice between the people they love and the art that sustains them. Tristan Brodsky, sprung from the asphalt of the depression-era Bronx, goes on to become one of the swaggering Jewish geniuses who remakes American culture while slowly suffocating his poet wife, who harbors secrets of her own. Nina Hricek, a driven young Czech photographer escapes from behind the Iron Curtain with a group of black musicians only to find herself trapped yet again, this time in a doomed love affair. And finally, Tris Freedman, grandson of Tristan and lover of Nina, a graffiti artist and unanchored revolutionary, cannibalizes his family history to feed his muse. In the end, their stories converge and the survival of each requires the sacrifice of another. The End of the Jews offers all the rewards of the traditional family epic, but Mansbach’s irreverent wit and rich, kinetic prose shed new light on the genre. It runs on its own chronometer, somersaulting gracefully through time and space, interweaving the tales of these three protagonists who, separated by generation and geography, are leading parallel lives.

A brilliant, genre-defying work—both memoir and epic poem—about the struggle for wisdom, grace, and ritual in the face of unspeakable loss “A bruised and brave love letter from a brother right here to a brother now gone . . . a soaring, unblinking gaze into the meaning of life itself.”—Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf my father said david has taken his own life Adam is in the middle of his own busy life, and approaching a career high in the form of a #1 New York Times bestselling book—when these words from his father open a chasm beneath his feet. I Had a Brother Once is the story of everything that comes after. In the shadow of David’s inexplicable death, Adam is forced to re-remember a brother he thought he knew and to reckon with a ghost, confronting his unsettled family history, his distant relationship with tradition and faith, and his desperate need to understand an event that always slides just out of his grasp. This is an expansive and deeply thoughtful poetic meditation on loss and a raw, darkly funny, human story of trying to create a ritual—of remembrance, mourning, forgiveness, and acceptance—where once there was a life.

From the author of the international bestseller Go the Fuck to Sleep comes a book about the other great parental frustration: getting your little angel to eat something that even vaguely resembles a normal meal. Profane, loving, and deeply cathartic, You Have to Fucking Eat breaks the code of child-rearing silence, giving mums and dads - new, old and expectant - a much-needed chance to laugh about a universal problem. You probably shouldn''t read it to your children. Adam Mansbach’s novels include The End of the Jews (winner of the California Book Award), Angry Black White Boy, Rage is Back and The Dead Run. His fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Believer, Granta, the Los Angeles Times and many other publications. Mansbach''s 2011 picture book Go the Fuck to Sleep was an international bestseller and one of the most talked-about books of the decade. A viral sensation, it has been published in forty languages, and is forthcoming as a feature film from Fox 2000. ''A likeable variation on a universal f**king theme.'' Kirkus ''Clever, funny and cathartic, parents and babysitters alike will love it.'' Big Issue ''There might be some parents who don’t relate to this book. But not many.'' Noni Hazlehurst on Go the F**k to Sleep ''The language? WTF? This hilarious, politically incorrect books is totally correctabout the feelings of sleepless, brain-dead parents.'' Mem Fox, author of Possum Magic on Go the F**k to Sleep

The third installment in Adam Mansbach''s international best-selling Go the Fuck to Sleep series addresses, with radical honesty, the family implosion that occurs when a second child arrives “If you’re a fan of both Larry David and profane children’s book parodies, don’t even try to curb your f*cking enthusiasm.” —Kirkus Reviews Adam Mansbach famously gave voice to two of parenting’s primal struggles in Go the Fuck to Sleep and You Have to Fucking Eat—the often-imitated, never-duplicated pair of New York Times best sellers that ushered in a new era of radical honesty in humor books for parents. But what could possibly be left? Parents—new, old, expectant, and grand—of multiple children already knew the answer. Adam discovered it for himself by having two more kids, less than two years apart. Fuck, Now There Are Two of You is a loving monologue about the new addition to the family, addressed to a big sibling and shot through with Adam’s trademark profane truth-telling. Gorgeously illustrated and chock-full of unspoken sentiments channeled directly from the brains of parents worldwide, Fuck, Now There Are Two of You articulates all the fears and frustrations attendant to the simple, math-defying fact that two is a million more kids than one. As you probably know by now, you shouldn’t read it to a child.

From the acclaimed author of Shackling Water comes the first great race novel of the twenty-first century, an incendiary and ruthlessly funny satire about violence, pop culture, and American identity. Macon Detornay is a suburban white boy possessed and politicized by black culture, and filled with rage toward white America. After moving to New York City for college, Macon begins robbing white passengers in his taxicab, setting off a manhunt for the black man presumed to be committing the crimes. When his true identity is revealed, Macon finds himself to be a celebrity and makes use of the spotlight to hold forth on the evils and invisibility of whiteness. Soon he launches the Race Traitor Project, a stress-addled collective that attracts guilty liberals, wannabe gangstas, and bandwagon riders from all over the country to participate in a Day of Apology—a day set aside for white people to make amends for four hundred years of oppression. The Day of Apology pushes New York City over the edge into an epic riot, forcing Macon to confront the depth of his own commitment to the struggle. Peopled with all manner of race pimps and players, Angry Black White Boy is a stunning breakout book from a critically acclaimed young writer and should be required reading for anyone who wants to get under the skin of the complexities of identity in America.

At the age of nineteen, saxophone prodigy Latif James-Pearson boards a bus to Manhattan to find his aging idol, the great Albert Van Horn. The centers of Latif’s universe soon become a Harlem boarding house, where he spends his days practicing intensely, and the downtown club where Van Horn''s group performs and Latif hides in the shadows, listening. There, he begins a complex affair with an older white painter named Mona, and starts working for Say Brother, a charismatic drug dealer. But as Latif’s frustrations with his playing mount, and the demands of balancing artistry, hustling, and love push him toward crisis, he is forced to confront his music, his past, and himself. A virtuosic story told with lyrical intensity, Shackling Water heralds the arrival of an important new voice in American literature.

#1 best-selling reggae artist Stick Figure (Scott Woodruff) and #1 New York Times best-selling author Adam Mansbach team up for a sweet, funny children''s picture book about a real-life rescue dog turned worldwide icon Cocoa the Tour Dog is the saga of an Australian shepherd who meets her soul mate: a struggling musician, Scott, with dreams of spreading love on stages across the globe. When Scott''s work starts to pay off, Cocoa wanders onstage herself and finds sudden fame—and the two of them embark on an adventure that takes them around the world playing music, delighting fans, and ignoring leash laws. But as the pace of life quickens, Cocoa begins to feel worn out—she misses the simpler times, and she''s no longer seeing the world with puppy eyes. Luckily, Scott has just the thing to restore Cocoa''s sense of wonder: a little sister dog. The two of them set off on an adventure to add Molly to the family, and soon Cocoa is teaching the puppy all about life on the road . . . and even how to take it to the stage.

Dear Mr. Franklin, First of all, let me just say that this Assignment is Stupid. You are Dead. Why am I writing a letter to Some dead guy I''ve never even met? This is the start to a most unlikely pen pal relationship between thirteen-year-old Franklin Isaac Saturday (Ike) and Benjamin Franklin. Before the fateful extra credit assignment that started it all, Ike''s life was pretty normal. He was avoiding the popularity contests of middle school, crushing hard on Clare Wanzandae and trying not roll his eyes at his stepfather, Dirk-the-Jerk''s lame jokes. But all that changes when, in a successful effort to make Claire Wanzandae laugh, Ike mails his homework assignment to Ben Franklin???and he writes back. Soon, things go awry. After Ike has an embarrassing moment of epic proportions in front of Claire involving a playground, non-alcoholic beer, and a lot of kettle corn, Ike decides he needs to find a way to win Claire back. With some help from his new friend, B-Fizzle, can Ike get the girl and make his mark in history?

Celebrating a decade of profane, loving, and deeply cathartic children’s books for adults, the entire Go the Fuck to Sleep trilogy is finally available in a collectors’-edition boxed set. "You''ve probably heard of the book Go the F**k to Sleep and its two sequels—You Have to F**king Eat and F**k, Now There Are Two of You. But did you know it''s been a full decade since the first book become a brilliant and hilarious phenomenon?" —Fatherly Ten years ago, Adam Mansbach crystallized the secret agony of parents the world over with one simple phrase: Go the Fuck to Sleep. In verses that perfectly capture the familiar tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night, the book opened up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations, and laugh at their absurdity . . . and the message only resonated louder when Samuel L. Jackson, the bard of the F-word, read the audiobook. You Have to Fucking Eat expanded the conversation to include parenthood''s other universal frustration: getting your little angel to eat something that even vaguely resembles a normal meal, with Bryan Cranston voicing the audiobook . . . and because life moves pretty fast, Fuck, Now There Are Two of You soon became necessary, to address the fact that two is, somehow, a million more kids than one—with Larry David doing the audiobook honors. And now, to celebrate a decade of profane, loving, and deeply cathartic children''s books for adults, the entire trilogy is finally available in a collectors''-edition boxed set, perfect for gifting at a baby shower or using to knock yourself unconscious. As always . . . you probably should not read these books to a child.

Why is this Haggadah different from all other Haggadahs? “Three comic writers have some fun with Passover. Seders may never be the same.” —USA Today If you’ve ever suffered through a Seder, you’re well aware that the entire evening can last as long as the exodus from Egypt itself. There are countless stories, dozens of blessings, and far too many hand-washings while the meal turns cold. Now prepare to be entertained by another version of the book that’s responsible for this interminable tradition. With this hilarious parody Haggadah from the comedic minds of Dave Barry, Alan Zweibel, and Adam Mansbach, good Jews everywhere will no longer have to sit (and sleep) through a lengthy and boring Seder. In For This We Left Egypt?, the authors take you through every step of the Seder, from getting rid of all the chametz in your home by setting it on fire with a kosher blowtorch to a retelling of the Passover story starring Pharaoh Schmuck and a burning bush that sounds kind of like Morgan Freeman, set against the backdrop of the Promised Land—which turned out not to be a land of milk and honey but rather one of rocks and venomous scorpions the size of Yorkshire terriers. You then eat a celebratory brisket and wrap up the whole evening by taking at least forty-five minutes to say good-bye to everyone. So gather all the Jews in your life (even the few who don’t appear to be long-suffering) and settle in for a fun way to pass the time while waiting for Elijah to show up. “[For This We Left Egypt?] brings a fair measure of levity to a holiday when leavening is banned.” —New York Jewish Week

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Go the F*** to Sleep, “a rollicking, frenetic and hilarious jaunt” (San Francisco Chronicle) and an Amazon Best Book of the Month Raised in the shadow of two graffiti legends from New York’s “golden era” of subway bombing, Dondi Vance is less than thrilled to learn his father, Billy Rage, is back after sixteen years on the lam. But the transit cop who ruined Billy’s life and shattered his crew is running for mayor—and must be brought down. Welcome to the Great American Graffiti Novel.

From Adam Mansbach, the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Go the F**k to Sleep, comes an electrifying and horrifying action-adventure tale set in the dangerous terrain of the Tex-Mex borderland In The Dead Run, outlaw with a conscience Jess Galvan made a devil''s bargain with El Cucuy, a fearsome, five-hundred-year-old Aztec priest and major crime kingpin determined to bring about hell on earth. Now, months later, Galvan is trapped in his own personal hell, his mind infested with the soul of this ancient monster. No longer able to trust his own judgment, he is estranged from his daughter, Sherry—and from his own body. His every moment is a battle to keep the evil priest at bay. But there is a silver lining—Cucuy''s presence has endowed Galvan with superhuman strength and endurance. Meanwhile, separated from Galvan and shell-shocked by her confrontation with Cucuy, Sherry is living with Sheriff Bob Nichols and his now girlfriend, psychologist Ruth Cantwell. The only bright spot in her life is her dashing new-to-town boyfriend. And in the bowels of Ojos Negros prison, a territory once controlled by the ancient priest, the drug cartels are at war with one another and on the hunt for Galvan—who must find a way to exorcise his inner demon in time to save the world from annihilation. In this chilling sequel to The Dead Run, #1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Mansbach mixes horror, the supernatural, and gritty suspense to create a high-concept adventure filled with nasty bad guys, fearsome magic, and an unlikely hero who is caught between worlds but determined to save this one.

The 100% kid-friendly, G-rated version of the New York Times best-selling parents'' book, You Have to F**king Eat.

The dazzlingly imaginative, ferociously funny story of an art teacher, a bodega clerk, and a five-thousand-year-old clay crisis monster, from the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Go the F**k to Sleep. “A devastating romp through history, a bonkers road trip through America, this novel could not be any funnier—or any more important.”—W. Kamau Bell In Ashkenazi Jewish folklore, a golem is a humanoid being created out of mud or clay and animated through secret prayers. Its sole purpose is to defend the Jewish people against the immediate threat of violence. It is always a rabbi who makes a golem, and always in a time of crisis. But Len Bronstein is no rabbi—he’s a Brooklyn art teacher who steals a large quantity of clay from his school, gets extremely stoned, and manages to bring his creation to life despite knowing little about Judaism and even less about golems. Unable to communicate with his nine-foot-six, four hundred-pound, Yiddish-speaking guest, Len enlists a bodega clerk and ex-Hasid named Miri Apfelbaum to translate. Eventually, The Golem learns English by binge-watching Curb Your Enthusiasm after ingesting a massive amount of LSD and reveals that he is a creature with an ancestral memory; he recalls every previous iteration of himself, making The Golem a repository of Jewish history and trauma. He demands to know what crisis has prompted his re-creation and whom must he destroy. When Miri shows him a video of white nationalists marching and chanting “Jews will not replace us,” the answer becomes clear. The Golem of Brooklyn is an epic romp through Jewish history and the American present that wrestles with the deepest questions of our humanity—the conflicts between faith and skepticism, tribalism and interdependence, and vengeance and healing.

An instant New York Times bestseller! From the bestselling author of Go the **** to Sleep and healthy eating advocate Camila Alves McConaughey comes a whimsical role reversal in which picky eater parents are confronted by their three kids, with hilarious results These three kids are determined to get their parents to put down the ice cream, cake, and chicken fried steak to just try one bite of healthy whole foods. But it''s harder than it looks when these over-the-top gagging, picky parents refuse to give things like broccoli and kale a chance. Kids will love the jaunty rhyme that''s begging to be read aloud and the opportunity to be way smarter—and healthier—than their parents.

Adam Mansbach, the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Go the F**k to Sleep and Rage Is Back, turns to a new tale of suspense, horror, and supernatural action Wrongfully imprisoned in a Mexican jail, outlaw-with-a-conscience Jess Galvan accepts a devil''s bargain: transport a sinister package across the border in twenty-four hours for the jail''s mythical—and terrifying—bogeyman El Cucuy. If Jess can make it across alive and give the iron box to cult leader Aaron Seth, he will be free and able to regain custody of his estranged daughter. But as Jess navigates a blighted desert full of deadly surprises, girls go missing on both sides of the border and bodies begin to surface. It''s a deadly epidemic of crime that plunges small-town sheriff Bob Nichols into a monster of an investigation he''s not equipped to handle, especially when sixteen-year-old Sherry disappears. An ancient evil has awoken in the empty wastelands along the border and now everyone—the innocent and the guilty alike—must face their deepest fears as epic myth and human malice combine to bring forth the end of the world as we know it. With The Dead Run, acclaimed author Adam Mansbach mixes horror, the supernatural, and suspense to deliver a chilling, high-octane adventure.

A hilarious handbook from three big-deal award-winning humorists: “I laughed til I plotzed. Did I use that correctly?” —W. Kamau Bell, goyish comedian Immerse yourself in the essence of Jewish humor and culture with A Field Guide to the Jewish People, brought to you by New York Times–bestselling Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry, #1 New York Times–bestselling author Adam Mansbach, and Emmy and Thurber Prize–winning SNL alum Alan Zweibel. Join them as they dissect every holiday, rite of passage, and tradition, unravel a long and complicated history, and tackle the tough questions that have plagued Jews and non-Jews alike for centuries. Combining the sweetness of an apricot rugelach with the wisdom of a matzoh ball, this is the last book on Judaism that you will ever need. So gather up your chosen ones, open a bottle of Manischewitz, and get ready to enjoy some “bona fide gems” from the authors of For This We Left Egypt? (New York Journal of Books). “No topic is off-limits.” —Kirkus Reviews “Literally has a laugh-out-loud moment on every page, sometimes more than one.” —Bookreporter

DIVWhen the world is threatened by an alien force, a Florida gator wrestler is all that stands between survival and total annihilation/divDIV Though humans have never heard their name, mankind’s greatest enemies are called the Zawa. A race of alien zealots, they crisscross the stars on a bloodthirsty crusade, destroying life on other planets in service of their sinister galactic god. And Earth is next on their list. They offer mankind one hope for survival: They will engage in hand-to-hand combat with Earth’s chosen champion to determine the planet’s fate. To find the world’s deadliest creature, Earth’s richest man—media titan Milan Marlowe—organizes a no-species-barred fight to the death, pitting sharks, gorillas, and polar bears against one another in a gruesome knockout tourney. No one bets on the alligator, but that’s because no one has heard of his trainer./divDIV /divDIVBruno Bolo is an alligator wrestler, blues singer, and whiskey-hound from the humid Florida swamps. He has a quick temper, quicker fists, and courage that is unmatched in man or beast. And he might just be humanity’s last chance . . . DIVThis is a fixed-format ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book./div/div

Hip hop poetry.

Having faked his way into the Music and Art Academy, a performing arts school for gifted students where his talented older sister rules, sixth-grader Jake, a jokester who can barely play an instrument, will have to think of something quick before the last laugh is on him.

Named one of the 20 Greatest New Father''s Day Gifts by Advocate.com! "No matter what the country or the language, parents all over the world--loving, frustrated, exhausted parents--know what Adam Mansbach means. Since 2011, his comically obscene picture book has sold more than 1.5 million copies in dozens of languages from Afrikaans to Japanese to Nynorsk. And later this year, his little book will venture into new territory with a Jamaican patois translation: ''Go de R–s to Sleep.''" --The Washington Post/Style Blog "This version of Adam Mansbach''s profane, affectionate, and radically honest book will remind whole new audiences about the absurdities of parenting. Just don''t read it to the kids." --Advocate.com, The 20 Greatest New Father''s Day Gifts Praise for Go the Fuck to Sleep: "A new Bible for weary parents." --New York Times "Incredibly appealing." --NPR "A parenting zeitgeist...A phenomenon that has stunned the publishing world and may just redefine the modern ‘parenting’ market." --Washington Post "Delightfully obscene." --Newsweek "Nothing has driven home a certain truth about my generation, which is approaching the apex of its childbearing years, quite like this deranged book." --New Yorker The best-selling Go the F*** to Sleep has been translated into over thirty languages worldwide. Now it is finally translated for Jamaican and other Caribbean parents of the world. Given how many West Indians live in the US and Canada, the market for this book should be broad, but focused mainly on areas with a large Caribbean community. Go de Rass 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 Cortés, Go de Rass 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.

For fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate comes the second book in the side-splitting series about a class clown faking his way to comedy stardom from comedian and film star Craig Robinson, #1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Mansbach, and NAACP History Maker recipient and cartoonist Keith Knight. "An absolute riot!" --LINCOLN PEIRCE, author of the BIG NATE series Jake cracks up the crowd as a budding comedian at the Music and Art Academy talent show, but his new ego is no laughing matter. And when he starts blowing off his friends to pursue his "art," Jake''s big head becomes a huge bummer. Plus, being the funny man is way tougher than it looks. Luckily, Jake has his mentor Maury Kovalski, a retired comedy showstopper, to teach him the ropes about humor--and humility--before Jake loses all his biggest fans and best friends! Featuring more than 200 illustrations, Jake the Fake stuns again with even greater gags and giggles than before!

For fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate comes the third book in this laugh-out-loud series about a class clown faking his way through middle school from comedian and film star Craig Robinson, #1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Mansbach, and NAACP History Maker recipient and cartoonist Keith Knight. Life couldn''t be better for Jake. He''s a student at Music and Arts Academy and a budding comedian, and he finally put an end to his fake-ster ways . . . or so he thought. There''s a new girl at school, and Jake would do anything to impress her, even pretending to be a master chef. And a world-renowned barber? But at home, Jake is less impressed with his mom''s news: she''s pregnant. Now Jake has to fake being happy about becoming the Middle Child. The King of Cool is about to drop his chill. Luckily, he has good friends and laughs on his side, along with more than two hundred illustrations--all about him!

If the Future has any remedy for this situation, do not hesitate to provide it. That is to say, Ike and Claire Wanzandae, HELP! HELP HELP HELP. I am (perhaps not for long), Benjamin Franklin Ike Saturday has seen better days. For one thing, his pen pal, Benjamin Franklin (yes, that Benjamin Franklin), is the target of an angry mob after Ike''s plan to help the Founding Fathers with some intel from the future seriously backfired. For another, he''s decided to mail himself back in time with the help of his girlfriend, Claire Wanzandae, and it''s not a particularly comfortable way to travel. Once Ike tracks B-Freezy down in 1776, it becomes clear that his pal is less than impressed with the irritating, modern-day rescuer, partially because Ike has a habit of making things worse for Ben, and partially because Ben is incredibly cranky when not in the presence of numerous meat pies. Which speaks to another issue for the pair: they have no money, no food, and basically no plan for saving the country. But Claire won''t be able to cover for Ike back home in the future forever, and the British are looking pretty impatient, so Ike and B-Freezy will have to come up with something quickly if they want to avoid an epic, history-destroying disaster. In this hilarious sequel to Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My . . . , Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel take Ike and B-Freezy''s antics to the next level as this ill-paired (and sometimes actually ill) duo hold the future of the world in their not-so-capable hands.

Attention : ceci n’est PAS un livre pour enfants ! Avis à tous les parents exténués par leurs adorables bambins refusant de s’endormir le soir : ce livre d’une « délicieuse obscénité » (Newsweek) est fait pour vous. Dodo fait le tigre au cœur de la jungle immense. Du haut de son arbre, même le moineau se tait. Ton doudou, tu peux te le mettre où je pense. Fais pas chier. Ferme les yeux. Fous-moi la paix. Qui n’a jamais rêvé de troquer les mièvreries des comptines enfantines pour une berceuse un peu moins hypocrite et un peu plus proche de la réalité ? Qui n’a jamais rêvé de laisser libre cours à son exaspération face à une progéniture rétive au sommeil ? Vous n’avez jamais osé parler ainsi à votre enfant ? Les auteurs de ce jouissif détournement de la littérature jeunesse l’ont fait pour vous. Ce qui n’était au départ qu’une pochade, imaginée par un jeune papa au bord de la crise de nerfs, s’est transformé en un véritable phénomène de société aux États-Unis : Dors et fais pas chier, non content de devenir le best-seller le plus inat-tendu de l’année (450 000 exemplaires vendus en 2 mois), a déclenché une déferlante de réactions et de débats dont toute la presse (New York Times, New Yorker, Washington Post, et en France, avant même sa parution, Courrier International, Rue89, Le Monde...) s’est fait l’écho.

« Il ne faut jamais forcer un enfant à manger. » Aldo Naouri « Le midi, son papa lui disait : “Mange tes épinards, mon petit lapin !” Il répondait : “Caca boudin !” » Stephanie Blake « Aujourd’hui les pères font ce qu’ils peuvent, les pauvres. » Marcel Rufo Vous en rêviez ? Vous le redoutiez ? Il l’a fait ! Quatre ans après le succès planétaire de Dors et fais pas chier, le premier anti-livre jeunesse, Adam Mansbach récidive. Car ce n’est pas tout d’arriver à endormir son enfant. Encore faut-il le nourrir... Et ça aussi, ça fait chier. Une page pour papa, une page pour maman... Attention, ce livre n’est toujours pas pour les enfants !

¡Duérmete ya, joder! es un cuento para sufridos padres con los pies en la tierra, donde un puñado de gatitos adormilados y rimas cursis no siempre ayudan a que las criaturas se entreguen a los brazos de Morfeo. ¡Duérmete ya, joder! habla de las familiares e íntimas amarguras que te embargan cuando intentas que tu pequeño angelito se vaya a la cama. Magnífico, subversivo y desternillante, es un libro para padres primerizos, experimentados... y para cualquiera que se lo esté pensando. Seguramente no deberías leérselo a tus hijos. Reseñas: «Una obra maestra.» Jonathan Lethem, padre de dos niños «El libro que ningún niño debería dejar al alcance de los adultos. Mansbach es un aguafiestas: sabotea el mito contemporáneo de la paternidad feliz y la lleva a su cruda y extenuante realidad.» Gabriela Wiener, escritora, autora de Nueve lunas y madre de Lena «¡Un cuento infantil para adultos! Me descojoné.» David Byrne, músico y padre de una criatura «Es físicamente imposible que tengas sed otra vez. ¿Cómo, a mear ahora? ¡Es la cuarta en lo que va de noche! No, no tengo ni p*** idea de dónde vive Papá Pitufo. ¿Un cuento? Ni lo sueñes. Túmbate, vas a despertar a tu hermano. No sé qué ruido hacen las zarigüeyas. ¿Yik-yik-yik? No sé dónde está tu madre. No, no pienso llamarla ahora. ¿Quién ganaría en un combate entre el dragón Desdentado y un velocirráptor? No sé, imagino que... ¡Son las cuatro de la mañana, joder! ¿Quieres hacer el santo favor de dormirte ya?» Kiko Amat, escritor, autor de Mil violines y padre de dos pelirrojos

Wer Kinder hat, weiß, dass Kuscheltiere und eine Gute-Nacht-Geschichte nicht immer helfen. Allzu oft bleibt ›Schlaf, Kindchen, schlaf‹ ein frommer Wunsch. Dann hockt man auf der Bettkante und könnte – bei aller Liebe – heulen vor Wut. ›Verdammte Scheiße, schlaf ein!‹ zeigt die ungeschminkte Wahrheit und ist dabei so komisch, dass man sich die Verzweiflung von der Seele lacht. »Muss noch immer lachen und weinen – ein scheißgutes Buch.« Julia Franck

¡Duérmete, carajo! es un cuento para dormir para los padres que viven en el mundo real, en el cual un par de gatitos ronroneando y unas líneas simpáticas no son lo suficiente para zumbar a un niño pequeño a dormir felizmente. Profano, cariñoso y franco de manera radical, cuenta la conocida y callada tribulación de acostar a su angelito. Bello, subversivo y para mearse ¡Duérmete, carajo! es un libro para padres experimentados, nuevos e incipientes. (Y probablemente es mejor no leérselo a los pequeños.)

Jake neumí pořádně hrát ani na jediný nástroj, dokonce ani na kazoo (a to zvládne každý trouba). A výtvarné umění? Jeho výtvory by nevystavili ani na školní nástěnce, natož někde v galerii. Což je doopravdy problém, protože si právě prošvindloval cestičku do Akademie múzických a výtvarných umění pro schopné a talentované děti (a Jakeovi je jasné, že on není ani jedno z toho). Jenže rodiče od něj čekají stejný úspěch jako od jeho sestry, která už chodí do posledního ročníku a je nádherná a okouzlující a úžasná zpěvačka a jde jí zkrátka všechno, na co sáhne. Jake, který vyniká spíš smyslem pro humor než uměleckým nadáním, bude muset rychle něco vymyslet, než to na něj praskne a ze školy ho vyrazí. Ohromně zábavná kniha plná nekorektního humoru a kouzelných ilustrací Keithe Knighta. *** Craig Robinson je americký komik, hudebník a herec, který ve svém autorském debutu Jake je fake přenáší svůj úžasný smysl pro humor do psané podoby. Je známý hlavně účinkováním v americké verzi seriálu Kancl a hollywoodských komediálních blockbusterech Apokalypsa v Hollywoodu, To byl zítra flám a Travička zelená. V knize Jake je fake Robinson oživuje nejzábavnější okamžiky a zkušenosti z doby, kdy sám navštěvoval první chicagskou veřejnou školu pro nadané děti. Robinson stále hraje, vystupuje na jevišti a fandí White Sox. Adam Mansbach je romanopisec, scenárista, kritik a humorista. Jeho knihy Go the F*ck to Sleep a You Have to F*cking Eat se umístily na špici žebříčku bestsellerů The New York Times. V poslední době rozšířil svůj repertoár i o první thriller, The Dead run, a román pro děti Benjamin Franklin. Ilustrace Keith Knight