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| What are your favourite books in translation? | What are your favourite books in translation? |
| (6 months later) | |
| Here's a sad fact we bet you didn't know: less than 3% of all books sold in the UK are translated fiction. In other words, most of the books we buy in the UK are written in English, by British or American writers. So what, you might think? Skellig author David Almond explains why we should care: "children need to read the best books by the best writers from all parts of the world… our children are missing out." | Here's a sad fact we bet you didn't know: less than 3% of all books sold in the UK are translated fiction. In other words, most of the books we buy in the UK are written in English, by British or American writers. So what, you might think? Skellig author David Almond explains why we should care: "children need to read the best books by the best writers from all parts of the world… our children are missing out." |
| We don't want to miss out do we? That's why are devoting this week to translated fiction! | We don't want to miss out do we? That's why are devoting this week to translated fiction! |
| The first thing to say is that you might not even be aware that some of your favourite books, even some absolute classics, are actually translated fiction at all! | The first thing to say is that you might not even be aware that some of your favourite books, even some absolute classics, are actually translated fiction at all! |
| From the Moomins to Pippi Longstocking to Tintin, all these books were written in another language and then translated into English, by hugely talented translators who bring their own ideas and poetry to the text – and sometimes even make the translated version better than the original. | From the Moomins to Pippi Longstocking to Tintin, all these books were written in another language and then translated into English, by hugely talented translators who bring their own ideas and poetry to the text – and sometimes even make the translated version better than the original. |
| So what are your favourites? We want to know! We want you to tell us which translated books you love and recommend to others. Email us childrens.books@theguardian.com and tell us! Or you can Tweet us, @GdnChildrensBks. | So what are your favourites? We want to know! We want you to tell us which translated books you love and recommend to others. Email us childrens.books@theguardian.com and tell us! Or you can Tweet us, @GdnChildrensBks. |
| Your recommendations: | Your recommendations: |
| AnonErik Kastner's The 35th of May, or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas. Sadly no longer in print. | AnonErik Kastner's The 35th of May, or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas. Sadly no longer in print. |
| JonTam Sventon, Private Detective by Åke Holmberg. Sventon is a very quirky, cream-bun devouring, flying-carpet riding, private detective with an inconsistent lisp (he can't pronounce his own name, which is Sam Svenson). There were nine Tam Sventon books in all, but I think only three or four have been translated into English. | JonTam Sventon, Private Detective by Åke Holmberg. Sventon is a very quirky, cream-bun devouring, flying-carpet riding, private detective with an inconsistent lisp (he can't pronounce his own name, which is Sam Svenson). There were nine Tam Sventon books in all, but I think only three or four have been translated into English. |
| ChantalAnybody who likes Emil and the Detectives might like a book called The Pasta Detectives (or, if you're in the US, it's called The Spaghetti Detectives), which is about another little boy, Rico, running around modern-day Berlin looking for his friend Oscar, who's been kidnapped. It's a great read and won the German Children's Literature Prize. | ChantalAnybody who likes Emil and the Detectives might like a book called The Pasta Detectives (or, if you're in the US, it's called The Spaghetti Detectives), which is about another little boy, Rico, running around modern-day Berlin looking for his friend Oscar, who's been kidnapped. It's a great read and won the German Children's Literature Prize. |
| TheBookThiefOne of my favourite books when I was younger was Inkheart by Cornelia Funke and that was translated from German. | TheBookThiefOne of my favourite books when I was younger was Inkheart by Cornelia Funke and that was translated from German. |
| BookwormReaderI've read Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren who is Swedish and Kurt Gets Truckloads by Erlend Loe who is Norwegian. | BookwormReaderI've read Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren who is Swedish and Kurt Gets Truckloads by Erlend Loe who is Norwegian. |
| Amazed EarthlingAs far as translated books go I picked up a Baba Papa book in Paris which has great illustrations and is good for young readers; my parents were nostalgic for the TV show that was on in the 1970s! The thirteen and a half lives of Captain Blue Bear gets my vote too. | Amazed EarthlingAs far as translated books go I picked up a Baba Papa book in Paris which has great illustrations and is good for young readers; my parents were nostalgic for the TV show that was on in the 1970s! The thirteen and a half lives of Captain Blue Bear gets my vote too. |
| ilynx21What about: Zeina Abirached's A Game for Swallows, Satyajit Ray's The Magic Moonlight Flower, Faten by Fatima Sharafeddine, Donkey Lady and Other Tales from the Arabian Gulf? | ilynx21What about: Zeina Abirached's A Game for Swallows, Satyajit Ray's The Magic Moonlight Flower, Faten by Fatima Sharafeddine, Donkey Lady and Other Tales from the Arabian Gulf? |
| NogginEmil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner was translated from German. I have seen the play, but to my shame, not read the book! | NogginEmil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner was translated from German. I have seen the play, but to my shame, not read the book! |
| SafahWhat about The War Within These Walls by Aline Sax and translated by Laura Watkinson. It was originally written in Dutch! | SafahWhat about The War Within These Walls by Aline Sax and translated by Laura Watkinson. It was originally written in Dutch! |
| Sugar, in ParisI love Emil and the Detectives, Emil and the Three Twins and Lottie and Lisa b Eric Kastner plus Le Petit Nicolas – I've read all these in French but I think they're translated into English, too. Plus The Never-Ending Story (my big sister has this one) by Michael Ende. | Sugar, in ParisI love Emil and the Detectives, Emil and the Three Twins and Lottie and Lisa b Eric Kastner plus Le Petit Nicolas – I've read all these in French but I think they're translated into English, too. Plus The Never-Ending Story (my big sister has this one) by Michael Ende. |
| What I think is that very few of all the good books we find here in French and German and Italian are translated into English and I want to know why not? We are lucky because we have more languages but it's not right others can't read them too! | |
| TwilightViI was quite shocked when I realised that so many of my favourite books weren't written in English. Especially all the fairy tales I love! And what about Pippi Longstocking – it's brilliant, I love Pippi. And the Moomins! | TwilightViI was quite shocked when I realised that so many of my favourite books weren't written in English. Especially all the fairy tales I love! And what about Pippi Longstocking – it's brilliant, I love Pippi. And the Moomins! |
| The Millennium RIOT readersThe Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi which is such a great fairy tale and is an easy classic to read. This is obviously so popular because of the Disney movie which we've have seen although not all of us have read the book. The Brothers Grimm fairy tales are still popular in our library as they have that creepy atmosphere readers today love and show these "fairy tales" which have been retold with a happier slant over and over just how dark the originals were. Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner, a lovely book especially for boys who may be looking for an easy classic to read. The story is exciting and enthralling enough even today to keep us reading until the end. | |
| HaiHere are some of my favourite translated books:Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto, Le Petit Nicolas by Sempre, Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume, Charlie Et La Chocolaterie by Roald Dahl Lauren (on Twitter)The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer is imaginative & captivating & heartbreaking. Love it. | HaiHere are some of my favourite translated books:Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto, Le Petit Nicolas by Sempre, Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume, Charlie Et La Chocolaterie by Roald Dahl Lauren (on Twitter)The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer is imaginative & captivating & heartbreaking. Love it. |
| Isabella and HelenaOur favourite translated fiction stories are the NeverendingStory and Inkheart series. | Isabella and HelenaOur favourite translated fiction stories are the NeverendingStory and Inkheart series. |
| LouisOne author, two incredible books – Reinhardt Jung, the late German journalist-turned-children's broadcaster was responsible for Dreaming in black and white, which addresses the issue of the Holocaust with a sensitivity and honesty that is lacking from many better-known stories about the same topic. He also created the truly magical Bambert's book of missing stories – which introduces similar notes of spirituality and truth in a linked selection of short tales. It is extremely sad that an author with such great gifts died so young. | LouisOne author, two incredible books – Reinhardt Jung, the late German journalist-turned-children's broadcaster was responsible for Dreaming in black and white, which addresses the issue of the Holocaust with a sensitivity and honesty that is lacking from many better-known stories about the same topic. He also created the truly magical Bambert's book of missing stories – which introduces similar notes of spirituality and truth in a linked selection of short tales. It is extremely sad that an author with such great gifts died so young. |
| UllaThe Shamer Chronicles by Danish author Lene Kaaberbøl. The first English language edition published in Great Britain by Hodder Children's Books (the series is also called The Shamer Quartet). | UllaThe Shamer Chronicles by Danish author Lene Kaaberbøl. The first English language edition published in Great Britain by Hodder Children's Books (the series is also called The Shamer Quartet). |
| EmmaI'd love to add Waffle Hearts by Maria Parr, a Norwegian writer. It's a sparkling debut which celebrates friendship and pure, wholesome adventure. | EmmaI'd love to add Waffle Hearts by Maria Parr, a Norwegian writer. It's a sparkling debut which celebrates friendship and pure, wholesome adventure. |
| PalfreymanThe Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Mahabharata - C Rajagopalachari's version, Asterix and Tintin, of course! Anything by Jules Verne - 20,000 Leagues under the Sea being my most commonly read one. | PalfreymanThe Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Mahabharata - C Rajagopalachari's version, Asterix and Tintin, of course! Anything by Jules Verne - 20,000 Leagues under the Sea being my most commonly read one. |
| TheFlyingKipper (from Twitter)My daughter likes Mrs Pepperpot by Alf Prøysen and my son's favourites are Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder by Jo Nesbø and its sequels. | TheFlyingKipper (from Twitter)My daughter likes Mrs Pepperpot by Alf Prøysen and my son's favourites are Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder by Jo Nesbø and its sequels. |
| SarahThe beautiful Jane, the Fox and Me by Fanny Britt and Illustrated by: Isabelle Arsenault was first published in French by La Pasteque of Montreal and the then translated into by Susan Ouriou and Christelle Morelli and published by Groundwood. | |
| NickyJackal and Wolf by Shen Shixi (China's "King of Animal Stories"), tr Helen Wang (Egmont 2012); Black Flame by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane, tr Anna Holmwood (Groundwood Books 2013), An Unusual Princess by Wu Meizhen, tr Petula Parris Huang (Egmont 2012). | NickyJackal and Wolf by Shen Shixi (China's "King of Animal Stories"), tr Helen Wang (Egmont 2012); Black Flame by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane, tr Anna Holmwood (Groundwood Books 2013), An Unusual Princess by Wu Meizhen, tr Petula Parris Huang (Egmont 2012). |
| The Book DoctorIn the Sea there are Crocodiles: based on The True Story of Enaiatollah Akbari by Fabio Geda, translated by Howard Curtis – it's about a 10-year-old Afghan boy who traffics himself from the border of Afghanistan/ Pakistan to safety in Italy. | The Book DoctorIn the Sea there are Crocodiles: based on The True Story of Enaiatollah Akbari by Fabio Geda, translated by Howard Curtis – it's about a 10-year-old Afghan boy who traffics himself from the border of Afghanistan/ Pakistan to safety in Italy. |
| Do email your own suggestions childrens.books@theguardian.com and keep coming back to the site this week to see what else we've got to say! | Do email your own suggestions childrens.books@theguardian.com and keep coming back to the site this week to see what else we've got to say! |
| Here's a plan of what translated delights we've got in store for you this week. Links will be added as the articles and features go live! | Here's a plan of what translated delights we've got in store for you this week. Links will be added as the articles and features go live! |
| Later on today we've rounded up some of our best reader reviews of translated fiction. Members, take a bow; we are at the cutting edge of children's books reviews! Did you know that the first ever review of Oksa Pollock was published on our site by one of our French-speaking reviewers, before the book was even translated into English – thanks for that SophieDophie, your review probably helped the book to get translated in English so non-French speakers can enjoy it too! | Later on today we've rounded up some of our best reader reviews of translated fiction. Members, take a bow; we are at the cutting edge of children's books reviews! Did you know that the first ever review of Oksa Pollock was published on our site by one of our French-speaking reviewers, before the book was even translated into English – thanks for that SophieDophie, your review probably helped the book to get translated in English so non-French speakers can enjoy it too! |
| On Tuesday 25 March, challenge yourself in our translated fiction quiz! Then from midday we're running a live blog of the world's largest children's literature award, the Astrid Lindgren prize, named after the creator of Pippi Longstocking herself. | On Tuesday 25 March, challenge yourself in our translated fiction quiz! Then from midday we're running a live blog of the world's largest children's literature award, the Astrid Lindgren prize, named after the creator of Pippi Longstocking herself. |
| We also have an extract of a real classic work of translated fiction Letter for the King by Dutch writer Tonke Dragt – and we also have 10 copies of the limited edition paperback to give away to lucky readers. | We also have an extract of a real classic work of translated fiction Letter for the King by Dutch writer Tonke Dragt – and we also have 10 copies of the limited edition paperback to give away to lucky readers. |
| On Wednesday 26 March, we've got a fascinating interview with the creators of Oksa Pollock, the witch who is being called the French Harry Potter. The book started life as a self-published book in France. Now the Oksa series is being translated into English and Pollockmania is beginning to spread across the whole world! | On Wednesday 26 March, we've got a fascinating interview with the creators of Oksa Pollock, the witch who is being called the French Harry Potter. The book started life as a self-published book in France. Now the Oksa series is being translated into English and Pollockmania is beginning to spread across the whole world! |
| On Thursday 27 March, Anthea Bell, the legendary translator of all the Asterix albums, gives us her top 10 children's books in translation. | On Thursday 27 March, Anthea Bell, the legendary translator of all the Asterix albums, gives us her top 10 children's books in translation. |
| And on Friday 28 March we've got a gorgeous gallery of a new and very cute book April the Red Goldfish, which was written in French by Marjolaine Leray and has been translated into English by Sarah Ardizzone. Sarah explains something of the great craft, art and skill of a translator in her revealing gallery captions (we have books to give away too). | And on Friday 28 March we've got a gorgeous gallery of a new and very cute book April the Red Goldfish, which was written in French by Marjolaine Leray and has been translated into English by Sarah Ardizzone. Sarah explains something of the great craft, art and skill of a translator in her revealing gallery captions (we have books to give away too). |
| JoshI love Cornelia Funke. With note, Dragon Rider was my favourite, I remember when it came out. | JoshI love Cornelia Funke. With note, Dragon Rider was my favourite, I remember when it came out. |
| We hope you enjoy this week of translated fiction fun and remember to email us with your top translated books childrens.books@theguardian.com, as well, of course, as your reviews! | We hope you enjoy this week of translated fiction fun and remember to email us with your top translated books childrens.books@theguardian.com, as well, of course, as your reviews! |