Children’s books are subordinate to children’s literature. Children’s literature is a special form of literature that takes children as its main readership. Through diversified contents, vivid stories, rich imagination and interesting characters, children’s books aim to help children understand the world, promote their healthy physical and mental development, and improve their literary literacy and aesthetic ability.

Children’s books are oriented to children’s groups, so the contents of the books are more educational, visual, interesting, storytelling and knowledge-based. Translators should also focus on these characteristics when translating, so that children can be immersed in them and subconsciously be educated.

From the above, we can find that there are many aspects to consider when translating children’s books. So what should we pay attention to when translating?

1. Understand the characteristics of children’s books: Children’s books usually use lively language and funny and humorous tone to describe the activities of characters and natural landscapes from children’s point of view, so as to attract children’s attention and inspire their empathy. Therefore, translators should be faithful to the original text while taking into account the acceptance and reading ability of different groups of children, and use the language that children enjoy to translate.

2. Vivid and easy-to-understand language: The language of children’s books should be simple and easy to understand, avoiding the use of complex words and sentences. Translators should use simple and direct language, and at the same time maintain the rhetoric and fun of the original text, so that the translated text is natural, smooth and full of children’s interest, in order to ensure that the translated text is attractive to children readers.

3. Consider cultural differences: Every country has different cultural backgrounds and customs, and sometimes there are culturally loaded words, slang and allusions. If the translators are not familiar with these words and allusions, they may make some embarrassing jokes when translating. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the translation of these words to ensure the accuracy and readability of the translation.

4. Pay attention to layout and formatting: After the translation is completed, it is also necessary to make proper layout of the whole text, such as empty lines between paragraphs and spaces at the beginning of paragraphs. This is especially important for longer articles. Beautiful layout can help readers read more easily and avoid visual fatigue.

The above are some of the experiences shared by ARTLANGS translation company on the translation of children’s books, and I hope they can be helpful to you.