Mediating between Childhood and Adulthood: The Translation of Picture Books

This paper examines the role of the translator of picturebooks as mediator between different images of childhood and adulthood. It first attempts to investigate the reasons behind peripheral and marginalized position of the translation of picturebooks, despite picturebooks' social and educational funtion. Secondly, this article discusses the importance of the child image held by a determined society, seen as a guiding principle of the translator's work. Finally, it will be argues tha the translations of this form of entertainment of youth might also show a different image of the adult given that picturebooks are meant to be read aloud by an adult reader while the child looks at the images.