Pippi Longstocking
Emil and the Detectives
Inkheart
The Little Prince
Quick, someone tell me what these all have in common!
If you’ve been following along for the past few weeks, hopefully my little pop quiz was easy – they’re all titles that were translated into English and then published in the United States. What they all also have in common, which is not the case with the majority of translated books (or honestly, most books) is that they all were critically well received and successful.
So here’s my somewhat rhetorical question – why? Why do some books (translated or not) fair better than others? Yes, there’s plenty to be said about who publishes them, the marketing machine behind the project, the buzz it receives from the literary world, the media and now social media as well. But there still has to be something there in the first place. I don’t have the answer (remember Disclaimer #1) but the titles above are proof positive that translated titles can and do succeed in the American market.
To begin with, it’s important to remember the role the publishing industry has in selecting books to be translated in the first place. In a September/October 2006 article that appeared in The Horn Book, editorial director Arthur A. Levine shared some of his insights on what makes a “good” translated book. When considering a book for translation, he says it really comes down to “If two books are equally brilliant, enjoyable, amazing… does one of them have that “extra” quality of truly having gained something from its national or cultural source?” While “good” could represent a myriad of different possibilities from literary quality to actual sales, I’d venture to guess that some publisher saw something in the tiles I’m including in this category to qualify them as “good” for publication by their house. Faith from a publisher can lead to better marketing, which can mean more exposure and perhaps the possibility of successful sales.
It also doesn’t hurt if they get a little push from the literary world in the form of an award. In the United States that comes in the form of the Batchelder Award, given by the American Library Association for “the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.” Additionally, the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) produces an annual Outstanding International Book list that has their picks for books that represent the best of children’s literature from other countries. On a grander scale, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) biannually awards the Hans Christian Andersen award to “an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature” and they also produce their own Honour List which is “one of the most widespread and effective ways of furthering IBBY's objective of encouraging international understanding through children's literature.” Like the United States Newberry and Caldecott medals, most other countries also have individual awards for children’s writers and illustrators. Receipt of any of these prizes, or one from their own country that attracts the notice of a publisher looking to purchase the rights to a book, could increase the likelihood of a title being translated. Add a sticker to the front noting that it’s an award winner and it may even increase sales. (Though in my opinion basing a book on the awards it has or hasn’t won doesn’t always net you the greatest reads.)
I will readily admit that these lists and award winners were the first place I turned to start tracking down titles. Not because I thought that they’d be the best, (because trust me, quite a few of them left me wondering why it had been published, let alone translated. Another things we’ll get back to…) but because they were a large source of materials. It was a good launching point, so there is something to be said that awards and acclaim from the literary “powers that be” may be one of the reasons some translated books fair better than others. Fortunately, I found that it also opened plenty of other avenues to explore once I found this source of material; authors may have other books, you learn of a publisher that specializes in translated material, an article on one of those books mentions similar titles – plenty of examples out there if you’re willing to look!
So once a book has actually been translated and published, we’re back to taking a closer look at the ones that made those award lists or have found a strong following otherwise. We’re still back to that “why” question which we'll be taking a much closer look at with all the books in this cateogry. For my purposes, “The Hits” as I'm calling this grouping was described it as follows:
“While the translated market only makes up a very small percentage of the United States’ publishing market (and the picture book genre only a fraction of that) there are some translated books that have been incredibly successful. What is even more interesting to consider is if the average reader (and parent) even realizes that some of these are translated books. From personal experience, I can’t begin to recall how many story times I attended that featured Press Here during which I have no idea the book hailed from France. I also have multiple teacher friends that included The Rainbow Fish in many lesson plans who were shocked when I told them the story was written by Swiss author Marcus Pfister. Both these books have been translated into numerous languages and produced follow-up titles. The question then becomes, why these? And one step further, if these do so well (and setting aside the argument if it’s good or bad that people aren’t even realizing they’re translated) why not others?
Similar to single titles that have made a splash in the US publishing market are series that were created in one country, reached massive popularity there and then have been translated into many different languages and distributed worldwide. Some of the series that I looked at dated back almost fifty years and were translated into English well after publication in their country of origin – why?”
You can see that this category has raised more questions than answers for me. No promises, but I’ll try my best to answer at least a few of them in some capacity over the next few posts. On Friday I’ll be looking at a few singular titles that have fared well in translation and next Tuesday will be a closer look at a few series that are beloved in their home countries but have received varying levels of success here in the United States. I’m keeping this category brief because as much as I think the “why” of these books is worth asking, I’d much rather put the effort into sharing and promoting some of the lesser known works I've found. Who knows, maybe that’ll even make me part of the “why” if I encourage enough of you to go out and check out some of these titles!
The Little Prince
Quick, someone tell me what these all have in common!
If you’ve been following along for the past few weeks, hopefully my little pop quiz was easy – they’re all titles that were translated into English and then published in the United States. What they all also have in common, which is not the case with the majority of translated books (or honestly, most books) is that they all were critically well received and successful.
So here’s my somewhat rhetorical question – why? Why do some books (translated or not) fair better than others? Yes, there’s plenty to be said about who publishes them, the marketing machine behind the project, the buzz it receives from the literary world, the media and now social media as well. But there still has to be something there in the first place. I don’t have the answer (remember Disclaimer #1) but the titles above are proof positive that translated titles can and do succeed in the American market.
To begin with, it’s important to remember the role the publishing industry has in selecting books to be translated in the first place. In a September/October 2006 article that appeared in The Horn Book, editorial director Arthur A. Levine shared some of his insights on what makes a “good” translated book. When considering a book for translation, he says it really comes down to “If two books are equally brilliant, enjoyable, amazing… does one of them have that “extra” quality of truly having gained something from its national or cultural source?” While “good” could represent a myriad of different possibilities from literary quality to actual sales, I’d venture to guess that some publisher saw something in the tiles I’m including in this category to qualify them as “good” for publication by their house. Faith from a publisher can lead to better marketing, which can mean more exposure and perhaps the possibility of successful sales.
It also doesn’t hurt if they get a little push from the literary world in the form of an award. In the United States that comes in the form of the Batchelder Award, given by the American Library Association for “the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.” Additionally, the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) produces an annual Outstanding International Book list that has their picks for books that represent the best of children’s literature from other countries. On a grander scale, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) biannually awards the Hans Christian Andersen award to “an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature” and they also produce their own Honour List which is “one of the most widespread and effective ways of furthering IBBY's objective of encouraging international understanding through children's literature.” Like the United States Newberry and Caldecott medals, most other countries also have individual awards for children’s writers and illustrators. Receipt of any of these prizes, or one from their own country that attracts the notice of a publisher looking to purchase the rights to a book, could increase the likelihood of a title being translated. Add a sticker to the front noting that it’s an award winner and it may even increase sales. (Though in my opinion basing a book on the awards it has or hasn’t won doesn’t always net you the greatest reads.)
I will readily admit that these lists and award winners were the first place I turned to start tracking down titles. Not because I thought that they’d be the best, (because trust me, quite a few of them left me wondering why it had been published, let alone translated. Another things we’ll get back to…) but because they were a large source of materials. It was a good launching point, so there is something to be said that awards and acclaim from the literary “powers that be” may be one of the reasons some translated books fair better than others. Fortunately, I found that it also opened plenty of other avenues to explore once I found this source of material; authors may have other books, you learn of a publisher that specializes in translated material, an article on one of those books mentions similar titles – plenty of examples out there if you’re willing to look!
So once a book has actually been translated and published, we’re back to taking a closer look at the ones that made those award lists or have found a strong following otherwise. We’re still back to that “why” question which we'll be taking a much closer look at with all the books in this cateogry. For my purposes, “The Hits” as I'm calling this grouping was described it as follows:
“While the translated market only makes up a very small percentage of the United States’ publishing market (and the picture book genre only a fraction of that) there are some translated books that have been incredibly successful. What is even more interesting to consider is if the average reader (and parent) even realizes that some of these are translated books. From personal experience, I can’t begin to recall how many story times I attended that featured Press Here during which I have no idea the book hailed from France. I also have multiple teacher friends that included The Rainbow Fish in many lesson plans who were shocked when I told them the story was written by Swiss author Marcus Pfister. Both these books have been translated into numerous languages and produced follow-up titles. The question then becomes, why these? And one step further, if these do so well (and setting aside the argument if it’s good or bad that people aren’t even realizing they’re translated) why not others?
Similar to single titles that have made a splash in the US publishing market are series that were created in one country, reached massive popularity there and then have been translated into many different languages and distributed worldwide. Some of the series that I looked at dated back almost fifty years and were translated into English well after publication in their country of origin – why?”
You can see that this category has raised more questions than answers for me. No promises, but I’ll try my best to answer at least a few of them in some capacity over the next few posts. On Friday I’ll be looking at a few singular titles that have fared well in translation and next Tuesday will be a closer look at a few series that are beloved in their home countries but have received varying levels of success here in the United States. I’m keeping this category brief because as much as I think the “why” of these books is worth asking, I’d much rather put the effort into sharing and promoting some of the lesser known works I've found. Who knows, maybe that’ll even make me part of the “why” if I encourage enough of you to go out and check out some of these titles!
See you Friday!
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