Image by open road media

Poet and author Adam Mansbach, 35, first thought of the idea behind “Go the F**k to Sleep,” a children’s book for adults, when he was having a particularly difficult time trying to get his 2-year-old daughter to close her eyes. The book’s cheeky rhymes detail a parent’s struggle to put his child to sleep while dodging a stream of excuses from a crafty toddler.

With whimsical and sweet illustrations provided by Ricardo Cortés, the book has become a phenomenal success, surprising even the author. The publication date was moved up from October to June after PDF copies of the book went viral. The book debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times’ best-seller list and climbed to the top spot on Amazon, all before it was printed. And this summer, when actor Samuel L. Jackson recorded the audio version of the book, Mansbach’s words took on a life of their own.

Mansbach’s previous award-winning works include “The End of the Jews,” which won the 2008 California Book Award, and “Angry Black White Boy.” He is finishing a two-year engagement as the New Voices Visiting Writer at Rutgers University.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Mansbach says religion does not play a big role in his life, but he told the Forward in June that “being Jewish is a big part of my artistic sensibility and my humor. I think it gives me a certain take on the world on a literary level.”

With three books in the works and rumors of a feature film based on “Go the F**k to Sleep,” exhausted parents have something to look forward to — if they can get a babysitter.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount