Illustration in translation. Translation and edition of illustrated children’s books

Abstract

Translation and edition of illustrated books for young readers is associated with many problems that result from the need to transpose both the translated text and the original illustrations into a new edition. Their presence each time causes the necessity to apply various technical procedures to adjust a different amount of text to the already established graphic layout, or vice versa. There are also often questions about the appropriateness and need for illustrations from the first print in the new language version. Sometimes this even results in the cancellation of a given title due to its incompatibility or the need for too great a change that disturbs the concept of the book, thus losing its value; in addition, there is the issue of copyright infringement. For many reasons, there are also situations when you purchase a text – only license and create your own cover, different illustrations or the entire graphic design. In the situation of a small incompatibility of a word and an image, the translator and the editor face the challenge of adapting the translation to an illustration or illustrations to the translation, after having established beforehand which of them is the dominant feature of the book. In the case of works from the canon, especially literary masterpieces, one should not forget about the tradition, rooted in the consciousness, perpetuated by outstanding and valued translations and illustrations of ideas and solutions, to which the translator, illustrator and editor who co-creates the new edition must always respond. An illustrated book, especially a translated book, is each time a big challenge, in each case posing considerable challenges to the participants of the publishing process and forcing them to ask many questions, to which they most often receive different, appropriate answers.