Last October, just before the deal-making frenzy of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the indie publisher Johnny Temple received an e-mailed book proposal that he was tempted to brush off.
The project, “Go the ____ to Sleep,” by Adam Mansbach, was an irreverent and foulmouthed parody of a children’s book, written in rhymey verse with profanities sprinkled throughout, giving frustrated voice to a universal problem for parents of small and stubborn children.
"At first I didn't really take it seriously, because it's so unlike anything that we publish," said Mr. Temple, the publisher of Akashic Books
