Children’s literature

Abstract

Translation for children encompasses such diverse forms as the toddler’s board book, the young adult novel or the illustrated information text, and requires an understanding of both developmental factors and the world of childhood. One fundamental, general difference between texts for adults and children is the history of children’s literature as a visual medium. Whether images are used to create visual narratives in comics, graphic novels or picture books, or as illustrations that punctuate a prose text, they add a new dimension to the dynamics between source and target languages. Critical interest in the translation of children’s literature has developed at an accelerating pace. A number of edited volumes, for example van Coillie and Verschueren, di Giovanni et al. and Douglas, as well as monographs demonstrate a diversity of approaches and theoretical perspectives. Two major studies address the complexities of narrative communication with the child reader.