Grand Island Public Library
When I lived in Japan for a few years after college, I had a startling realization at the six-floor Kinokuniya bookstore in Tokyo.
There are many, many books originally written in English that are available in Japanese — mostly bestsellers, business books, and children’s classics. But manga comics aside, very few books originally written in Japanese are ever made available in English.
Of course, that’s largely due to raw numbers. There are many more books released in English every year than there are in Japanese. But this also extends to other foreign languages.
According to the University of Rochester, works in translation make up only about 3% of books published in the U.S., a fact researchers refer to as the “three percent problem.”
Laura Fentress
That percentage is even smaller for children’s literature.
You’ve probably heard of the Newbery Medal, awarded annually to the author of “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” Newbery books include well-known titles like “Sarah, Plain and Tall,” “The Giver,” and “Because of Winn-Dixie.”
But have you heard of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award, given for books like “Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit” or “The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy”?
The Batchelder Award is given annually to a U.S. publisher for the “most outstanding” children’s book in translation (originally published outside the U.S. in a language other than English). We have several Batchelder winners and honorees available at the Grand Island Public Library.
The Batchelder winner in 2021, “Telephone Tales” by Gianni Rodari, originally published in Italian in 1970, is a collection of bedtime stories a traveling accountant tells his faraway daughter every night, each one taking only the time a single coin in a pay phone will buy.
“Brown” by Håkon Øvreås won the Batchelder in 2020. Originally published in Norwegian in 2013, it tells the story of a boy named Rusty and how he copes with bullies and the loss of his grandfather by creating a superhero alter ego.
Also in children’s fiction is a new translation of “Kiki’s Delivery Service” by Eiko Kadono (originally published in Japanese in 1985) about a young witch finding her way in the world. (You can check out the DVD of the 1988 animated film in the children’s section, too.)
The children’s graphic novel “Catherine’s War” (2021 Batchelder honoree) by Julia Billet is based on Billet’s mother’s experiences as a Jewish girl in France forced into hiding as the Nazis rose to power.
If you’re looking for a Batchelder-winning picture book, try “The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy” by Béatrice Alemagna (French) about a little girl’s quest to find the perfect birthday gift for her mother, or “The Fox on the Swing” by Evelina Daciutè (Lithuanian), about a little boy who befriends a talking fox.
Teens should check out Nahoko Uehashi’s “Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit” (2008 Batchelder winner) or “The Beast Player” (2020 Batchelder honoree), both originally published in Japanese. Uehashi herself is a cultural anthropologist and her fantasy world-building skills are second to none. “Moribito” is a martial arts epic recounting the adventures of Balsa, a female bodyguard. In “The Beast Player,” young Elin finds herself caught in deadly schemes after she discovers she can communicate with the magical beasts that guard her kingdom.
Also for teens, “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi is a gripping two-volume autobiographical graphic novel about the author’s childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, originally published in French between 2000 and 2004.
Literature is a marvelous thing. Organized ink squiggles on a page can transport you to other worlds and open your eyes to new (or forgotten) possibilities and perspectives.
That is, unless you can’t read the language.
So come to the library and pick up a translated book. The world you find within might be very different — or very familiar.
Laura Fentress serves as the youth and family services librarian for the Grand Island Public Library. Email her at lauraf@gilibrary.org.
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