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One, Two, Three, Me by Nadia Budde is a board book for the pre-school / nursery crowd. It is a quirky take on the “learn about the world around you” type of book with an exploration of colours, shapes, weather, locations, clothes, sizes and emotions/characteristics. Told in rhyme with naive, childlike drawings that reminded me a little both of Finnish illustrator Hannamari Ruohonen and Dutch illustrator Babette Harms, this is not your average toddler learning book, and is so much more fun for all that.
The choice of vocabulary is interesting (eg “gigantic, average, wee” when talking about size, or “spotted, plaid, pale” when talking about colours and patterns), and the animals modelling the cloths / locations / emotions etc are unusual: you’ll meet boars, cockroaches, rats, moose and a gnu!
The unusual lexical and illustrative choices made by Nadia Budde ensured that was this book inherently more interesting to read than many of its ilk. Whilst I wouldn’t be surprised if some parents felt happier with a more conventional approach, for example Kali Stileman’s Big Book of My World (which I reviewed here), the slightly anarchic slant taken by this book meant I loved reading it aloud, my enjoyment came across to J, and she too discovered a new book to love.
So now for a slightly geeky diversion, if you’re interested in translation. As a rhyming book, and a book where there is a close connection between the text and the images I was curious to find out how it had been translated.
Nadia Budde’s book is called Eins Zwei Drei Tier (One Two Three Animal) in the original German. A little rooting around has shown that not only has the translation been creative, Nadia Budde also must have redrawn some of the images for the English language version. Here are some images from the original book side by side with the corresponding images from the translated version.
German and English frontcovers. Note the different animal a
5 Comments on A creatively translated world for little ones, last added: 1/27/2012
Hmm…I’d love to know why these changes were made too! Seems unnecessary, although both versions are very charming. Reminds me of the Swedish picture book Else-Marie and the Seven Little Daddies (reviewed in 32 Pages)-and the removal of the communal bathing scene for the North American version. Of course, with ‘One, Two, Three, Me’, it was an aesthetic decision rather than censorship, but you gotta wonder why the jackal was switched out for the giraffe in the English version! Must have been an interesting editorial meeting. I hope the illustrator got paid twice. Sadly, I don’t pay much attention to board books since I left the bookstore, but I certainly remember some very lovely titles. Your review made me very wistful. I’ll have to dive back in. Donna McKinnon recently posted..Pigs On Ice
Jen said, on 1/26/2012 7:17:00 PM
I want to know why they were changed too! I wonder if it’s just one of those things where someone has more time to think about something and then changes it. I do that all the time with writing!
Love your filling in the blanks activity, hope you don’t mind if I steal it! Jen recently posted..Sora and the Cloud
Zoe said, on 1/27/2012 1:29:00 AM
Sorry Elli, I absolutely should have done, although it is not clear who the translator was. On the front cover of the English language version there is a second name – Jeremy Fitzkee – but I can’t be sure what role he played in the book.
maggy,red ted art said, on 1/27/2012 2:22:00 AM
Oooh thank you for this review! I am particularly interested in the original, as my children are growing up bilingually. Maybe the unusual choice of words is really good for us to help build vocabulary in the weaker language (German). And as the text is so simple it will give us plenty of time to discuss any unknown words. It is going on my wish list!
Myra from GatheringBooks said, on 1/27/2012 2:39:00 AM
Hi Zoe! That’s an interesting question that you posed – I’m part of the organizing committee of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content this 2012 here in Singapore and we are planning on having a panel on translation – books that have been translated, the challenges faced by translators, the whole shebang. I am not sure whether we’re still pushing through with that panel, but you’ve raised great questions here that I’d be sure to ask if I’d have a chance to sit in that session. Great books, by the way! And yes, my library list is growing longer by the mile. Myra from GatheringBooks recently posted..AWB 2012 Database
Today’s post has been the hardest post to research since I began this blog. Why? Well, as part of Reading Round Europe I’ve been searching and searching for almost 6 months (yes, half a year – that’s how dedicated I am!) for some fantastic Danish picture books available in English translation to bring to you, to share with my girls and for us all to enjoy. But have I been able to find any?
Barely. I’ve found one or two Danish picture books that were nice enough, but not so brilliant, and I’ve seen references to one or two on the internet which I then haven’t been able to get hold of to read, let alone review. What’s going on with Danish children’s literature? Why are so few Danish picture books translated into English?
“I think one explanation could be different views on childhood and of the role of the adult in relation to children’s books.
You might find it a provocative statement, but when I enter a children’s book shop in England – or Sweden for that matter – I find that a majority of books are made in a way so that neither child nor parent/adult is challenged too much. Generally speaking picture books seem to confirm existing norms and conventions.
A lot of Danish picture books are also like that. But I think there is also a tendency in picture books from Denmark (and Norway), to expand the borders of how you can address also small children and which kind of stories you can tell them. Today, I am working on a presentation of some recently published Danish picture books: One of them is about children in a concentration camp (illustrations by Dorte Karrebæk), one of them about a girl in a third world country who lives in a dumping ground, and in a new humoristic and ironic version of H.C. Andersen’s “What the Old Man Does is Always Right” the main character, Osama, meets three prostitutes, a drug dealer and a homeless character.
Very simply put: In some Danish (and Norwegian) picture books (older) children are exposed to i.e. cruelty towards children, naked children, sex, less than ideal behavior presented in an ironic manner etc. In relation to these examples, the child reader is supposed to be “competent” – not an individual who should always be protected from strong or strange impressions. I think this could be one of reasons why so few of them are translated. I might be wrong.”
I’d love to be able to research this thesis. Certainly it seems to be a plausible hypothesis if you also look at an article in IBBY’s Bookbird journal, “A Challenge to Innocence – ‘Inappropriate’ Picturebooks for Young Readers” by Carol Scott (2005, Vol 43, no. 1 – available to read for free in pdf form here)
I just bought The Umbrella by Ingrid & Dieter Schubert from Amsterdam. It is an absolutely gorgeous book. Nothing to translate, though, as the picture book is wordless–but I thought you might like to know about it if you don’t already. Cheryl Rainfield recently posted..Buying Picture Books as a Treat
Zoe said, on 5/9/2011 4:51:00 AM
Hi Kerri, Great to hear the book is in your local library. I hope you enjoy it when you get to read it!
Zoe said, on 5/9/2011 6:33:00 AM
Hi Catherine,
I’ll have to follow that one up. The author’s name looks like it could be Danish… Zoe recently posted..Kidlit destinations in Denmark
Sara said, on 5/9/2011 7:03:00 AM
Interesting letter and rationale.
I’ve had a terrible time finding Danish picture books in English. The ones we have are in simple Danish, we just translated as we read. And at least one of those is originally German.
I grew up with some relatively hard-headed Norwegian immigrant children’s authors in Minnesota where assimilation has been as delayed as everyone could make it (the D’Aulaire troll books, Wanda Gag). But no Danish ones.
Today I’m thrilled to be bringing you a guest post by award-winning British writer and educator Matthew Finch.
Matthew is currently based in New York and blogs on literacy, education and storytelling at booksadventures.blogspot.com. When he saw my Reading Round Europe adventures through the Nordic countries he offered to visit the storybook installation at Scandinavia House in NYC on my behalf. I was delighted! I had already highlighted the installation, A Child’s Adventure in the Swedish Countryside in my post about Kidlit destinations in Sweden and had dreamed of visiting it. Short of offering to fly me over Matt did the next best thing and visited the installation and interviewed those involved with it at Scandinavia House for Playing by the book. I’m very grateful to Matt, so let me now, without further ado, hand you over to his words!
**************
New York’s Park Avenue isn’t the first place you might look for trolls, fairies and talking fennel bulbs, but right now, it’s the place to be for Manhattanites seeking a touch of Nordic magic, thanks to the American-Scandinavian Foundation.
Families who visit the children’s centre on the fourth floor of Scandinavia House find themselves transported across the waters from the USA to a magical Swedish country landscape. British artist and set designer Sarah Edkins’ installation, A Child’s Adventure in the Swedish Countryside, leads young explorers through a warren of plush, cushioned skyscrapers via a seascape mural into a fabulous rural fantasia.
Photo: Tina Buckman, courtesy of Scandinavia House.
Sarah joined Matt and Playing by the Book via e-mail to discuss the project. We began by discussing her history with the American Scandinavian Foundation.
‘I’ve been working with Scandinavia House since 2003, when I created the first Swedish Children’s exhibit, celebrating Pippi Longstocking and the work of Astrid Lindgren. It was meant to run for six weeks but it was so popular that the members asked to extend it, and it ended up staying for more than four months! The exhibit was followed with more from each of the Scandinavian countries, and each one stayed up longer. The Iceland installation was up for two years.’
Photo: Tina Buckman, courtesy of Scandinavia House.
Sarah’s original plan for A Child’s Adventure focused on the work of Elsa Beskow, the pion
3 Comments on A Child’s Adventure in the Swedish Countryside: Children’s Literature Installation at Scandinavia House, NYC, last added: 3/21/2011
Before setting out on our journey Reading Round Europe the only children’s fiction I had read from Norway was Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World, and that was about 15 years ago so researching this leg of our adventure involved lots of new discoveries for me. Here’s what I found, a mixture of books about Norway and from Norway:
Stian Hole, winner of the 2007 Ragazzi award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, has written three well received picture books, two of which are available in English translations. Booklist says of Garmann’s summer “As Michael Rosen’s Sad Book did with grief, this poignant picture book, originally published in Norway, looks at uncertainty from the inside out, not as the by-product of the first day of school but as an organic thread in the fabric of life. Rather than simply tackling the worries that come with change, this rare book plumbs the underneath, capturing the abstract feelings that reside in a child’s heart and reflecting them back.” You can read a short interview with Stian Hole here. I haven’t been able to get hold of this book yet, but it’s definitely on my to-read list.
Based on a true story from 13th century Norway, The Race of the Birkebeiners tells how a small band of peasant warriors, the Birkebeiners, rescued the heir to the Norwegian throne, the infant Prince Hakon from his enemies by skiing across mountain in blizzard conditions. A tale of courage and faith, this exciting story would make an excellent, unusual choice for a Christmas book; the events not only take place at that time of the year but Christian faith is also a central theme throughout. That said, don’t wait till Christmas to look for this beautiful book as it is also a lovely introduction to several aspects of Norwegian culture, history and geography.
Mary Azarian’s illustrations, woodcuts handtinted with quite intense watercolours, are stunning and a perfect match for the historical setting of the book. Like the modern text based on an ancient saga, Azarian’s work also feels fresh yet full of echoes from the past.
The Birkebeiners, literally translated from the Norwegian as “Birch Leggers”, are so called because their armour consisted of birch bark wrapped around their legs. Thus the journey which began with reading The Race of the Birkebeiners continued with us going on a Birch tree hunt. Fortunately Silver Birch trees are pretty easy to spot, and the girls loved looking out for them, in gardens and in the local park.
We found a dead Silver Birch and this gave the girls the perfect opportunity to strip some bark from it – they loved the silver sheets they were able to peel off.
This bug caused a squeal of delight too!
Once home the girls wanted to be Birkebeiners themselves so shields were made…
… and the birch bark we had collected was used to create armour.
Then our
4 Comments on Norwegian Wood(s), last added: 3/14/2011
Wow. You know Zoe if I were a university I’d award you a doctorate in Children’s Literature Studies. We recently had a mini Saffron Tree meet and were all gushing about you and your blog
The birch bark shields look like such fun!
Btw S lent me her copy of Mal Peet’s Cloud Tea Monkeys recently – it is awesome, have you managed to track it down yet?
sandhya said, on 3/13/2011 9:45:00 PM
I’ll second that, Zoe. All of us STers (if that is the right word to use) were immediately full of praise for you the minute your blog was mentioned. We are all confirmed fans. It is a must visit destination for me even if I don’t comment every time. Other than the books you discuss and the way you discuss them, the activities you do based on them are awesome!
Zoe said, on 3/13/2011 11:34:00 PM
Thank you so much Sandhya and Choxbox! Your comments are a wonderful thing to wake up to. It makes all the different to know that I have readers who I can really connect with, readers I would really like to spend time with in real life, talking about books, chatting over tea.
No, haven’t been able to get Cloud Tea Monkeys yet – isn’t in the library system But The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips is by my bedside!
Ali B said, on 3/14/2011 7:22:00 AM
That sounds like a wonderful book! And what great fun the girls must have had.
Anna has been taken by her uncle to his place of work, an art museum. From her body language you sense that she is a reluctant visitor to the galleries and despite her uncle’s reassurance that the visit “will be fun” Anna isn’t convinced.
Things get off to a bad start.
Anna watched the grown-ups who were listening to her uncle.
“Visual art…,” Uncle Harold said in a serious voice, “is a vast subject. I shall attempt to explain, so please keep your questions for later.”
And then they only get worse. Anna needs a pee. In fact she really needs to go to the bathroom. So she slips away from her uncle and his audience and asks a wrinkled old man if he knows where the bathroom is.
This wrinkled old man, however, is none other than Rembrandt: Anna is talking to his self portrait. But without batting an eyelid, Rembrandt answers and sends Anna off on an exploration through landscapes and characters in a variety of paintings in the gallery as she tries to find the toilet painted by Marcel Duchamp. “Had Duchamp exhibited a real toilet or a piece of art? Anna had to find out because she really had to go.”
Anna follows a winding road through an Edvard Munch painting, across a van Gogh landscape, bumps into Picasso on a beach, dreams her way through a Magritte picture and is very intrigued to find Jackson Pollock creating what appears to be a huge mess as he completes a characteristically explosive painting.
As if waking from a reverie Anna finds herself back in the gallery listening to her uncle’s tired voice. Anna thinks to herself, actually
“He doesn’t’ know who really painted that picture or what can happen if you venture into a painting”.
But Anna knew – she had tried it for herself.
If you didn’t know who the author and illustrator were of this book you would have no reason to suppose that this is a picture book from Norway. It’s simply a lovely, detailed, engaging book about art, which happens to have been created by two talented Norwegians. I love how it captures the idea that if you can just let yourself go, allow yourself to let go of any preconceptions, you can escape into a picture and it will take you on an adventure.
The story draws on two common childhood experiences – being bored listening to an adult talking about something rather dull and desperately needing a pee. I’m sure M could identify with Anna’s situation and this empathy immediately drew M into the book.
On each page the illustrations are in the style of the painting through which Anna is walking. Elling, an established fine artist, as well as a book illustrator, vividly captures the essential elements of the different artists; they’re all instantly recognizable to an
4 Comments on What can happen if you venture into a painting?, last added: 3/10/2011
This looks delightful, I am going to look out for it!!!
Zoe said, on 3/10/2011 1:08:00 AM
hi Se7en, We got our copy through the library system so I hope you can too!
maggy, red ted art said, on 3/10/2011 1:21:00 AM
Ooooh we have that book and we LOVE it Was surprised that my son (only just 3) really took to it (he liked the fact that we were looking for a toilet!). LOVE your painting. We will SOOOOO Be copying you this one soon! Thanks for the fab craft and lovely book!
Maggy x
Zoe said, on 3/10/2011 1:31:00 AM
Yes, the hunting for the toilet was a stroke of genius I think, Maggy! It’s a great craft for outside – I also thought about doing it with fabric paint on a bed sheet hanging from the washing line – wanted to create a really big canvas, and think this idea could be lots of fun if you had a whole group of children involved.
Whilst Iceland clearly has a thriving children’s literature scene, few books are translated into English and even fewer are available to buy outside of Iceland so I’ve struggled a little today with bringing you a round up of children’s books from or about Iceland which you might enjoy.
But here goes – and of course, if you know of any Icelandic books for kids, please do let me know about them in the comments!
Written in 1921 it tells a tale surely inspired by Swan Lake. Princess Dimmalimm always plays by herself within the walls of the palace garden. “She was sweet and good, and she was also very obedient.”
One day Dimmalimm is granted permission to explore the world outside. Everything is different beyond the walls but she does find a lake full of swans and is utterly entranced. She makes friends with one swan in particular and soon she is visiting him every day.
But on one visit she discovers her swan dead at the lake shore. Dimmalimm is heartbroken. Some days later the princess returns to the lake to grieve, but her tears are staunched by the voice of handsome prince.
“One day an ugly old woman came by. She was a witch. She laid a spell upon me and turned me into a swan and said that the spell could not be broken until I should meet a girl who would be sweet and obedient and who would love me.”
And with the bad magic dispelled the prince and princess marry and live happily every after.
If I’m totally honest I was rather underwhelmed by this book. It’s an uncomplicated, familiar tale and its emphasis on “obedience” sat slightly uncomfortably with me and my modern sensibilities. The illustrations are gentle watercolours and match the story well in terms of simplicity and straightforwardness.
Apparently this book is hugely popular in Iceland and if this really is the case, I’m a little puzzled. If there are any Icelanders out there reading this post, please leave a comment to help me understand why The Story of Dimmalimm is so well loved in your home country!
Moving on hopefully, the following are books in translation which I’ve not been able to get hold of but are included here simply because there are so few translated books to point you towards.
More Icelandic Picture Books | Playing by the book said, on 2/16/2011 10:36:00 PM
[...] Originally posted here: More Icelandic Picture Books | Playing by the book [...]
Donna McKinnon said, on 2/17/2011 8:27:00 AM
Zoe, I just love your international book tours! Such a treat, and this one was particularly interesting. Those Icelanders really love their trolls. (Sort of like Canada and beavers.)
Donna
Zoe said, on 2/17/2011 12:23:00 PM
Thanks Donna, that’s very kind of you to say. I have to admit I’m rather enjoying them myself – dreaming of holidays in lovely places and discovering lots of great and interesting stuff along the way. We <3 beavers in this home because of their appearance in Narnia! Never met a Canadian one though
If you want to read some Swedish picture books in English you’ve lots to choose from – I’ve really been surprised by how many are translated.
Whatever the reasons, there are lots of Swedish books to enjoy with your kids (or by yourself!) and today I bring you a selection of what’s available in English, and point you to where to go if you want to find out more.
Outside In, the (UK based) organisation dedicated to promoting and exploring world literature and children’s books in translation, lists 64 Swedish children’s books translated into English (as compared to 11 from Finland, 16 from Norway, 14 from Denmark and 2 from Iceland). Of the picture books they list, the most popular (to English speaking audiences, as measured by Amazon sales) include:
We have some of Astrid Lindgren’s books, apart from Pippi that is. Always love them. Linnea in Monet’s Garden has lovely illustrations doesn’t it? In fact we were just discussing it with an American friend yesterday – apparently it is very popular in the US too.
Look forward to your reviews of the two books you mention.
Zoe said, on 1/31/2011 4:12:00 AM
Hi Choxbox,
Thanks! I had lots of fun reading around for this post – I’m learning lots and discovering so many new books, it’s great!
Ali B said, on 1/31/2011 5:22:00 AM
The Lotta books by Astrid Lindgren are available on Amazon. I loved her Bullerby books as well when I was a child, but Pippi will always reign supreme… a great post as always; I’ll be looking out some of these.
Born in 1946 Nordqvist originally trained as an architect before returning to his childhood dream of illustration with the publication of his first book, an alphabet book, in 1982. Three years later he published his first book in what has come to be an extremely popular series about a slightly eccentric farmer, Pettson, and his cat, Findus.
Winner of several prizes, including the Elsa Beskow Plaque (1989), The August Prize (2007) and the German Youth Literature Prize (1992), Nordqvist has seen his books published into many different languages from Hindito Hungarian. Indeed, his Pettson and Findus books have been translated into English multiple times – originally as Festus and Mercury, and later retaining the original Swedish names Pettson and Findus.
Findus had three birthdays a year, because it was more fun that way. And every birthday, Pettson made him a pile of pancakes.
First he went to the hen house to collect a basket of eggs. Then he sat on the bench outside the kitchen and polished them. Pettson was a tidy man and he wanted them all clean and shiny.
So begins a hilarious story about Pettson, his chaotic life, and the lengths he’ll go to to ensure his beloved cat Findus can celebrate his birthday in style. One thing leads to another and before long baking the birthday pancakes has involved climbing over the shed roof, playing music to a bull, tying a curtain to Findus’ tail and adding that secret ingredient known as trousers to the pancake batter. Sound crazy? Well it certainly is, but it makes for a perfect recipe – both for a story and for pancakes.
2 Comments on An Eccentric Farmer and his Loveable Cat, last added: 1/27/2011
Oh, these sound wonderful. I’ll definitely be getting them for my nephew! My personal favourite is the classic Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins, and I am now racking my brains to remember two books about Pekingese dogs that lived on farms… aagh…
Zoe said, on 1/27/2011 11:58:00 AM
Oh yes, Rosie’s walk. A must for everyone I think Ali! Am intrigued by the Pekingese dogs… I await with baited breath, Ali!
As we continue Reading Round Europe my first offering from Sweden is by a classic, much loved (and widely translated) author/illustrator, Elsa Beskow.
Born in 1874 Elsa Beskow published 40 odd books in her lifetime, many featuring children exploring fairy tale worlds where respect for nature plays a major role. She is credited with having been the first author to bring Swedish children’s literature to an international readership and her books are nowadays particularly popular with followers of Steiner and Waldorf education methods.
A family of forest people live under the curling roots of an old pine tree, deep in a forest. They go about their lives playing, exploring, observing nature and overcoming danger and the book follows their simple and happy lives through the course of the four seasons. They make friends with frogs, fight (and kill) a snake, collect mushrooms, harvest cotton grass and feed their animal friends when the snow comes. Their life is almost carefree and idyllic, in harmony with nature and their surroundings.
Children of the Forest
The original Swedish text was written in rhyme, but this has not been retained in the English version. Perhaps this was a wise decision, for the text certainly never feels like it is a translation. One of my favourite quotes is “They paddled and splashed in the stream, damming it to build a water mill. No one card how wet or muddy they were for no child of the forest can catch cold“. This made me think of the forest kindergarten movement, a type of preschool education which is held almost exclusively outdoors.
The illustrations will delight you if you like Beatrix Potter or Jill Barklem. They are the perfect mix of reality (in so many details, such as the mottling on the silver birch bark used as a shield by the father of the family) and fantasy (pint sized people, trolls and fairies). There is nothing modern, avant garde or unsettling about
3 Comments on Tomtebobarnen, last added: 1/23/2011
Tweets that mention Tomtebobarnen - Else Beskow's said, on 1/23/2011 5:18:00 PM
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Holly Thompson, SCBWI Japan Tokyo. SCBWI Japan Tokyo said: In Playing by the Book Reading Round Europe series–Swedish author/illustrator Elsa Beskow http://bit.ly/e2R0qG Mushroom hats! [...]
Carrie, Reading My Library said, on 1/23/2011 8:55:00 PM
You just keep on surprising and wow-ing me with teh crafts you do with your girls.
Seriously, seriously impressed!
Stephanie's Mommy Brain said, on 1/23/2011 9:32:00 PM
Wow! What a fun activity! I’m sure you girls will remember that book for a long time.
Suitcase packed and passport at the ready? Then we’re off, on the first stage of our European tour – and this week’s destination as part of Reading Round Europe is Finland!
Finland’s most famous children’s author has to be Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins. Interestingly, Jansson wrote in Swedish rather than Finnish – about 5-6% of the population of Finland have Swedish as their mother tongue. Her first Moomin book was published just over 65 years ago, but today Moomins are probably more popular than they’ve ever been.
Given this background, it’s not surprising that the two biggest kidlit destinations in Finland are both Moomin related.
The Moominvalley of the Tampere Art Museum is a museum devoted to original works by writer and artist Tove Jansson and can be found in the centre of the city of Tampere.
Photo: Tampere Art Museum
The atmospheric Moominvalley art museum hosts a constant exhibition for a part of the collection of c. 2,000 works donated to the City of Tampere and the Tampere Art Museum in 1986 by Tove Jansson (1914-2001), Tuulikki Pietilä (1917-2009, graphic artist and Tove Jansson’s partner) and Pentti Eistola (a frequent collaborator with Jansson and Pietilä on Moomin projects).
Photo: Tampere Art Gallery
In addition to the permanent exhibition, there is currently a special exhibition, Dancing Moominvalley, focussing on movement and dance in the Moomin art of Tove Jansson, who apparently loved to dance herself. Alongside the exhibition dance company Tanssiteatteri MD is currently performing a contemporary dance piece also titled Dancing Moominvalley – you can see images on the Dancing Moominvalley blog.
I didn’t know there was a Moominworld! Now I want to visit Finland even more
Zoe said, on 1/2/2011 10:40:00 PM
Oh Iris, me too! Doing the research for this post and the ones coming up about Finnish kidlit just made me more and more interested in visiting the country…
Today I’ve my last review for this month as part of Gathering Books’ Award Winning Book Challenge, and again it’s a picture book which has won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth literature prize).
The choice of vocabulary is interesting (eg “gigantic, average, wee” when talking about size, or “spotted, plaid, pale” when talking about colours and patterns), and the animals modelling the cloths / locations / emotions etc are unusual: you’ll meet boars, cockroaches, rats, moose and a gnu!
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By: Zoe,
on 5/8/2011
Today’s post has been the hardest post to research since I began this blog. Why? Well, as part of Reading Round Europe I’ve been searching and searching for almost 6 months (yes, half a year – that’s how dedicated I am!) for some fantastic Danish picture books available in English translation to bring to you, to share with my girls and for us all to enjoy. But have I been able to find any? 
Matt did the next best thing and visited the installation and interviewed those involved with it at Scandinavia House for 
But The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips is by my bedside!
Written in 1921 it tells a tale surely inspired by 
Hmm…I’d love to know why these changes were made too! Seems unnecessary, although both versions are very charming. Reminds me of the Swedish picture book Else-Marie and the Seven Little Daddies (reviewed in 32 Pages)-and the removal of the communal bathing scene for the North American version. Of course, with ‘One, Two, Three, Me’, it was an aesthetic decision rather than censorship, but you gotta wonder why the jackal was switched out for the giraffe in the English version! Must have been an interesting editorial meeting. I hope the illustrator got paid twice. Sadly, I don’t pay much attention to board books since I left the bookstore, but I certainly remember some very lovely titles. Your review made me very wistful. I’ll have to dive back in.
Donna McKinnon recently posted..Pigs On Ice
I want to know why they were changed too! I wonder if it’s just one of those things where someone has more time to think about something and then changes it. I do that all the time with writing!
Love your filling in the blanks activity, hope you don’t mind if I steal it!
Jen recently posted..Sora and the Cloud
Sorry Elli, I absolutely should have done, although it is not clear who the translator was. On the front cover of the English language version there is a second name – Jeremy Fitzkee – but I can’t be sure what role he played in the book.
Oooh thank you for this review! I am particularly interested in the original, as my children are growing up bilingually. Maybe the unusual choice of words is really good for us to help build vocabulary in the weaker language (German). And as the text is so simple it will give us plenty of time to discuss any unknown words. It is going on my wish list!
Maggy
maggy,red ted art recently posted..How to… Make Jar Terrarium
Hi Zoe! That’s an interesting question that you posed – I’m part of the organizing committee of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content this 2012 here in Singapore and we are planning on having a panel on translation – books that have been translated, the challenges faced by translators, the whole shebang. I am not sure whether we’re still pushing through with that panel, but you’ve raised great questions here that I’d be sure to ask if I’d have a chance to sit in that session. Great books, by the way!
And yes, my library list is growing longer by the mile. 
Myra from GatheringBooks recently posted..AWB 2012 Database