"Hickory, dickory, dock......."
Posted on 06/14/2011 10:22:10 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Adam Mansbach has had three novels and a book of poems published but it was a brief Facebook update wishing his two-year-old daughter would "Go the F--- to Sleep" which helped him hit publishing gold.
Now a year later, the resulting parody of a children's book may be the unlikeliest hit book of the summer.
Ahead of U.S. publication on Tuesday, the expletive-laced book of rhyming verse has advance sales of over 100,000 copies and is in its fifth printing, which takes copies in print to over 400,000.
The movie rights have been bought by Fox 2000.
"After a particularly difficult time putting my two-year-old daughter Vivien to bed, I posted on Facebook ... 'Be on the lookout for my forthcoming children's book, Go the F--- to Sleep,'" Mansbach recalls of the unlikely night which changed his professional life. "It was a joke. It was not a book I had any intention of writing at the time."
Mansbach got a good response and in the coming weeks retold his joke again and again, winning positive reactions from fellow bleary-eyed parents who urged him to write the book.
Eventually he did, aiming to voice the love a parent has for a child while capturing the inner frustration of a parent who, however loving, also hears a darker inner narrative as the task of bedtime drags on and on.
Among the verses are:
"The eagles who soar though the sky are at rest
And the creatures who crawl, run, and creep.
I know you're not thirsty. That's bullsh--. Stop lying.
Lie the f--- down, my darling, and sleep."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Sounds like comedian Louis C.K.’s schtick.
It sounds as if the kindest thing to do for this “writer” is give him a book of adjectives.
Have we hit bottom yet?
I like it - I want, I want, I want...
Nice.
< Do I need a sarcasm tag for that? Probably. >
Regards,
GtG
How disgraceful for this parent to do this and even more disgraceful for others to encourage him.
Seriuously should the people that gave a “positive” response to this be responsible for the raising and nuturing of children?
An amusing story of the free market in action. Demonstrates the fact that sometimes the throwaway line becomes the success, and the planned success becomes the throwaway. You just never know when an idea will become a money-maker. Just be ready when it does!
How dare they have a sense of humor! Infidels!
"Hickory, dickory, dock......."
One of the comments at the source........
“I really was thirsty you @#$%!”
That reminds me of a homemade Christmas card I once saw:
“Times are tough, Life is hard,
so here’s yer ****ing Christmas card!
Yes. Definitely.
Have you managed to figure out that this isn’t a book for kids, but a book for their parents? No?
I imagine that MILLIONS of parents, like myself, are reading the quoted prose and laughing their asses off, knowingly.
If you really linked the two, you need HELP.
The book is not for kids in any way and it’s clear to most people. Time to recalibrate your humor detector.
Nobody reading this book is abusing their children, that’s just plain a ridiculous thing to say and let’s not even get into the idiocy of comparing it to the copy and paste freak. They’re venting a little frustration, child rearing isn’t all fun days in the park, sometimes they’re a big pain in the @$$. As a friend of mine often said (when his kid was being a pain) “you know why humans have an instinct against killing cute things? protects our young”. It’s not like they’re actually saying this stuff to the kids.
Good grief. That's ridiculous.
This is not a children's book anymore than South Park is a children's cartoon. It is aimed for adults. As a parent, I found it funny. Would I read it to my children? Of course not.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.