One of my favorite things to do as an author is to produce bilingual books. I’m impressed by people who speak more than one language fluently. I was pretty good in German, but those days are gone. I’m trying to learn Spanish and making slow progress, but a bit better each day. I’ve noticed that I can now understand Spanish on Western TV shows! In support of teaching children languages when they are young and their minds grasp a second language so much more quickly, I try to translate as many of my books into an appropriate second language as possible.
So far, a few of my books have been translated into Spanish, French, and CHamoru (the language of Guam).
Many translators have been afraid to touch my books because they rhyme. Fortunately, I have found a poet who is willing to not only translate but also try to get the Spanish version to rhyme: Ana C. Blum.
Ana previously worked on the Hummingbird of El Conquistador, and now she has tackled Vampire…Tortoise?!. I am thrilled to announce that La Tortuga…Vampiro!! has been published!
My bilingual books include the English text and the stanzas coupled together, in case the reader enjoys having both languages conveniently located on the page.
La Tortuga…Vampiro has the same excellent, vibrant illustrations as Vampire…Tortoise!!. It also has the same suspenseful story, perfect for learning about some of the common Sonoran Desert animals.
One aspect of the translation left me chuckling. At the end of the book, I’ve included the names, common and scientific, of the plants and animals featured in the story. I was asked to provide the common names in Spanish. Some were different, such as tortoise and la tortuga, but many common names for plants in the Sonoran Desert are already in Spanish. I didn’t need to translate saguaro, ocotillo, etc. This area is a great mix of cultures and languages.
Find La Tortuga…Vampiro!! and all of my bilingual books on my author website.
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