Getting children to go to sleep has long been the battle of the century. And although some children; like this little girl who draws herself into a slumber, just drop off without too much hassle, for others bedtime is a war fought by tired, brave parents against their unrelenting noise breathing spronglets.
Written by Adam Mansbach and illustrated by Ricardo Cortes, this satirical bedtime book about getting the kids to sleep will have parents in tears of laughter. Complete with four line verses and beautiful illustrations, you might mistake this sweary bedtime book for any other children’s story.
Honest to a fault, this sleeper hit topped the New York Times Bestseller list and was mentioned on Letterman, CNN and The New Yorker to name but a few. Complete with bittersweet rhymes, sweet scene setting is chased down with profanity. From owls soaring through the treetops, to lions in the jungle, each stanza returns to the bedtime battlefield and the book’s word of du jour; fuck.
This book does exactly what it is meant to do, and that’s pretty damn awesome. The illustrations are great too; Imaginative and striking. But this adult bedtime story is by no means perfect and does start to grate a little by the end, despite its gallant purpose and well-meaning comedy intentions. A perfect gift and funny as hell nevertheless.