Aside from public enemy and movies like boyz in the hood having an influence on me in my early years, books published by Harlin Quist were a big part of my childhood as well. My oldest sister Lily went abroad to europe when she was 19 for a summer and brought me back a bunch of these awesomely strange and psychedelic childrens books.

From a fan site:

Harlin Quist was an American book publisher who set a new standard of excellence in children’s book publishing during the late 1960′s.
From 1966-1984, Quist published over sixty children’s books, featuring some of the finest European and American authors and illustrators. Quist’s books helped establish the careers of many young artists, and brought a quirky and original look to childrens’ book publishing.

The stories were about everything from a girl who climbs through her television into a disturbing world to a wooden doll adopting a human child to a caterpillar who believes he’s a mustache. they were so bizarre and imaginative and the illustrations were brilliantly surreal and bordering on nightmarish (if you were a kid). looking at them now, it’s hard to believe that children were its intended audience because they are so druggy and fear and loathing-like. but they are awesome and i wish that they were easier to find these days. check out the whole list of books here.