Noisy outlaws, unfriendly blobs, and some other things that aren't as scary - Editors of McSweeney's

Interspersed with charts, graphs, and various crossword puzzles, A Book of Noisy Outlaws, Evil Marauders, and Some Other Things . . . features some of today's best authors spinning new tales ranging from the spooky to the strange. George Saunders tells the story of a father who takes caution to dangerous extremes in "Lars Farf, Excessively Fearful Father and Husband." In "ACES by Phone," a small boy finds a cell phone that lets him listen in on the thoughts of dogs, and in "Small Country," Nick Hornby introduces a country too small for a postal system but, unfortunately for one bookish boy, just big enough for a football team. Each story features full-color illustrations by artists including Barry Blitt, Lane Smith, David Heatley, and Marcel Dzama.

The collection includes previously unpublished children's stories from Jonathan Safran Foer ( Everything is Illuminated ), Nick Hornby ( High Fidelity ), Neil Gaiman ( Sandman ), George Saunders ( CivilWarLand in Bad Decline ), Kelly Link ( Stranger Than Fiction ), and Jon Scieskza ( Stinky Cheese Man ). The dust jacket folds into a unique aerogram, which factors into a special contest involving a story written partly by Lemony Snicket, partly by thousands of children.