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SELECTED SPREADS FROM AMY MARTIN’S NEW PICTURE BOOK— FORTHCOMING OCTOBER 2014
Mr. Nimbus couldn’t sleep
at night
and then late one night
a letter arrived.
Dear Yellow Human, I noticed you slept through your visit today. You show great potential! So, are you awake? The world is much brighter than the view from your window — have you ever considered returning at night? Come back after sunset! We think that you’ll like it. Excited to see you! Be safe —but not scared. Your friend, Tarsier Studio 35, Hall of Nocturnal Beasts, Zoo
out in the glimmering summertime evening the bars on the windows all seemed to dissolve into color and sparkle and glow and reflection
the world on the outside was not dark at all
he worked all night— his heart was racing! he barely noticed that just outside
the nighttime world was slowly changing
he felt the early morning sun spread out as the city woke up, singing the hum of coffee being made the stretch of life, beginning
he did not count sheep again
C O MI NG I N O CT O BE R FROM McSWEENEY’S McMULLENS Mr. Nimbus has spent his whole life trying to go to sleep. Night after night he tosses and turns in his room, counting sheep, stars, and holes in the ceiling. Only when the sun is about to come up does he turn off like a light. One night, after a day trip to the zoo (which he slept through), he receives a letter. “Please return to our studios between midnight and dawn,” the letter reads. “Signed, Tarsier, Studio 35, Hall of the Nocturnal Beasts, Zoo.” So Mr. Nimbus decides that tonight, instead of counting sheep, he will ride his bike across the sleeping city and see what waits for him at the zoo. When he arrives, at last truly awake and fully alive, he finds the Hall of Nocturnal Beasts blazing with light, color, and art.
AMY MARTIN is the author and illustrator of Symphony City, winner of the 2012 Marion Vannett Ridgway Honor Award. Night Life is her second book. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
PRAISE FOR SYMPHONY CITY
“Dazzling.” —SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE “This book will be treasured in one’s family library [and] passed on for generations.” —SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER “Meditative.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Publication Date: October 2014 ISBN: 978-1-940450-22-3 Hardcover with a double-sided poster jacket 48 pages • 12 × 9.5 in. • $18.95 Media Contact: Gabrielle Gantz at gabrielle@mcsweeneys.net Bookseller/Librarian Contact: Sam Riley at sam@mcsweeneys.net McSweeney’s office: 415.642.5609
Advance Uncorrected Proof Please consult finished book before quoting for review