Seriously, kids. Writing op. Just published.

Back in June I reviewed Go the F∆ck to Sleep, written by Adam Mansbach and illustrated by Ricardo Cortés. If you haven't heard about this fokkin' hilarious blockbuster, you must've just awakened from a year-long coma, because it's been all over the Internet. Anyway, given the use of fokk and bullshit profanities in the text that was meant for adults, some parents ad-libbed lines in the book and used G-rated prose to read to their kids. So, in response to the first book's incredible success, next month Akashic Books is issuing a children's version entitled Seriously, Just Go to Sleep.

The difference in the versions is primarily replacing the profanity, like this:

Adult version:
"I know you're not thirsty. That's bullshit. Stop lying.
Lie the fuck down, my darling, and sleep."

Was changed to this in the children's version:
"I know you're not thirsty. You just had a drink.
Stop goofing around now, and sleep."

I don't have little kids to test out Seriously, so I can't say whether it would help you get your kids to sleep or would instead encourage their aberrant insomniac behavior. But, since the first version reads as if it were a children's book, it does make for a good kid's story.

Cortés illustrations are basically the same as in the Go the Fokk, with two major changes. One is toward the end of the story [no page numbers in these books; don't know why]. The dad who's creeping away was replaced by a dead-ringer illustration of Samuel L. Jackson, who did the audio version of Go the Fokk. On the recording he even claims he used to tell his daughter "Go the fokk to sleep" when she was little. Him, I'd believe.

The other illustration change is that the adult who's asleep on the couch at the end of the story is a woman, in the children's version, as the dad escorts the kid to the bedroom. In real life, I don't know that this plays realistic, since we all know it's a mom talent that gets kids to go sleep.

Given Bryce Milligan's guest column yesterday about how Amazon intends to destroy independent publishing in the Internet world, instead go to Akashic here to order a copy or get it from some independent source. Then you can go the fokk to sleep.


Writing op and just published

Label Me Latina/o
Deadline: May 15

Label Me Latina/o Journal seeks scholarly essays focusing on Latino literature, as well as creative literary pieces in English, Spanish or Spanglish. For more information, go here.

Recently published:
Latina/Chicana Mothering provides a glimpse into the journey of mothering within the diverse spectrum of the histories, struggles, and stories of Latinas and Chicanas. Here, the Latina/Chicana mothering experience emphasizes the need for various conceptualizations of mothering, especially in regard to the conditions which shape the lives of Latinas and Chicanas, such as race, gender, sexuality, culture, language, social status, religion, kinship, location, and migration. The book has four sections: testimonios (narratives), links between motherhood and communities, mothering challenges, and literary and cultural images of Latina/Chicana mothers.

To learn more or order copies of this title, go here. 
For media review copies, contact info@demeterpress.org

Just published:
El Gusano de Tequila by Viola Canales is the Spanish translation of the novel The Tequila Worm, which won the 2006 Pura Belpré and PEN USA Awards and has sold over 50,000 copies.

Sofia comes from a family of storytellers and here are her tales of growing up in the barrio, full of the magic and mystery of family traditions: making Easter cascarones, celebrating el Día de los Muertos, preparing for quinceañera, rejoicing in the Christmas nacimiento, and curing homesickness by eating the tequila worm. When Sofia is singled out to receive a scholarship to an elite boarding school, she longs to explore
life beyond the barrio, even though it means leaving her family to navigate a strange world of rich, privileged kids. It's a different mundo, but one where Sofia's traditions take on new meaning and illuminate her path. Viola Canales's warmhearted novel draws readers into an affectionate and humorous world full 
of memorable characters. For more information, click here.

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