Where Credit Is Due: The Art of Translation

A recent visit to a small independent bookshop in small town Wisconsin put me in conversation with its book buyer/staff member/owner. She told me, among other observations of her community life as a literary light, that there is a dramatic increase in shoppers seeking books brought to their English reading awareness through translation. “They’re looking for translations of stuff for every age and interest group,” she noted.

“A constant preoccupation for translators is keeping to the author’s intention, yet this also needs to balance with the reader experience. ‘As a translator, I guess you’re always kind of juggling between your loyalty to the author, what the author’s written and how they write, and the reader’s experience,’ [Ros] Schwartz said. ‘…what you’re trying to do is to get as close as possible to the author’s intention to evoke, in the reader of your translation, a similar response to the readers of the original text, whether that’s making them laugh, making them cry, whatever it is’.” Heather Gosling writing in The Bookseller, 28 July 2026

Do dogs really sound different around the globe? Certainly the way humans imitate the sound of the bark they hear differs from language to language: from the American English “woof” to the Portuguese “au,” the Turkish “hev hev” and the Indonesian “guk.” The sound we humans make to imitate what we think an animal voices is an example of onomatopoeia and onomatopoeia more broadly is a handy—and fun—linguistic tool that crosses cultures and languages to be used in verse with high appeal, or even written for, kids. So…

IMAGINE! Rhymes of Hope to Shout Together requires the translator to bring their onomatopoeia along for the ride from, in this case, Italian, to English speaking kids. The Red Comet Press edition of Italian children’s poet Bruno Tongolini is transported to English to English by Denise Muir. Just like the book’s illustrator, Giulia Orecchia, Ms. Muir’s translation contribution is meaningful to those reading it. That is just one of the talents and skill sets the best translators bring to their work. As the School Library Journal reviewer notes: “Many of the lines feature precise rhyme, and those that don’t still flow seamlessly with rhythm and sound, proving the skill of the translator and the poet alike.”

Denise at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (right) with IMAGINE!’s author Bruno Tongolini (middle). Photo courtesy of Denise Muir

“If only the world outside could be taught
Not in the classroom-our teachers, they ought
To open the window, show how things happen
How much we’d fathom! Imagine!”
IMAGINE! page text

Another type of non-human noise that humans spell out imitatively that varies from language to language is that of ambient sounds—whether that of a particular birdcall or the soundscape supplied by passing traffic. Yes, EVERYTHING IS MUSIC so who carries those sounds from the original Korean to English reader/listens? Miran Park’s picture book is made available to English-speakers and listeners through publisher Blue Dot Kids Press employing the talents and care of translator Paige Aniyah Morris. While the picture book has collected reviews to entice and engage readership, Ms. Morris’ work receives little notice as such. Yet, it’s integral to domestic appreciation of this linguistic import.

From Georgia Review article: Mystery and Trust: A Conversation with Literary Translator Paige Aniyah Morris

“Ha-ha, he-he, tee-hee
as children laugh out loud!”
EVERYTHING IS MUSIC page text

Kids of a certain age have a fascination—and delight—in bodily functions, which come in a range of sounds as well as, well, smells. Alicia Acosta’s CAPTAIN STINKBOTTOM, illustrated by Emilio Urberuaga, plays to both these angles and does so with word play all the way through puns, another translation feat. Publisher NubeOcho credits the seemingly indefatigable Cecilia Ross with another example of her capacity for giving both book and reader their due. Puns rely on linguistic agility that recognizes a play on words and, as a translator, she transports that play from one language’s words to another, all giggles—and eyerolling—intact.

“Stinkbottom and Elsa have been good friends since that day.
They dine and they laugh and they toot away…
“Here comes a mighty cannon blast!” they always say.”
CAPTAIN STINKBOTTOM page text

Yes, American readers of every age are interested in access to stories from beyond their own lingual knowledge. So, let’s give the translators their due, just as we do illustrators of these picture books. Check out our Pinterest board of KidLit in Translation and celebrate this fine art.