Buying Dilemma; GO THE F@@K TO SLEEP
The little book that began as a Tweet continues to build steam. Go The F@@K to Sleep, by Adam Mansbach, (Akashic), a faux-bedtime story that gives vent to parents’ frustrations in trying to get their little ones to shut their eyes, gets a second NY Times story today, a week in advance of its release date (the original October pub date was moved up, both because of the media attention, but also because it gets it on shelves in advance of Fathers Day. The publisher has seen this as a gift items for adults from the beginning).
While many are excited to sell it, the NYT notes,
Still, Akashic [the publisher] has encountered resistance from some retailers. While the book has a clearly identified reader demographic — parents of young children — some of the stores whose shoppers fit that profile have refused to carry it. Wal-Mart, for instance, has declined to sell the book.
What about libraries? A check of catalogs at several large library systems shows half have ordered it. Curiously, there are not as many holds as one might expect.
If you’re still on the fence, EarlyWord Kids correspondent, Lisa Von Drasek, offers this review.
Despite its completely inappropriate language and the fact that it is being tracked as a children’s book on the Amazon lists, this satire on every sickly sweet “good night” picture book is spot on for sleep deprived “billyburg” hipster parents [Ed Note: “billyburg” refers to the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn].
The rhyming text captures the frustrations of the grown-up dealing with the umpteenth request for a glass of water, the billionth story as the manipulative toddler who refuses to “go the f*** to sleep.”
It reads aloud well with a sickly sweet voice supported by over-the-top cute painting of sweeping landscapes and pudgy wide awake, wide eyed babies plopped in the middle.
Is it for the children’s collection? No.
Will it be the highlight of an adult only new parents gathering? Yup.
Go the F@@K to Sleep is also coming out on June 14 as an eBook from Open Road Media, which DOES make its books available to libraries via OverDrive. An enhanced ebook version will be published later. Brilliance is also releasing an audio version on Aug. 3.
June 8th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
LOL – I preordered this for myself, I can’t wait to get it. I actually wouldn’t expect there to be a lot of library holds on this one – I would think many people are going to just buy it, or would automatically assume their library wasn’t going to be adding it to the collection.
June 8th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
We were on the fence on this one and decided if we got tons of patrons’ request, we’d seriously consider it, but so far we haven’t got a single one…………..I think too people are maybe assuming libraries won’t carry it, although heaven knows they ask for everything else!
June 13th, 2011 at 10:21 am
My library system has copies on order. I’m kind of proud of them. I won’t lie. I pre-ordered a copy for myself as well. It’s hilarious.