I’m Italian and I write in Italian. Well, when I write about science, in my job as a researcher, I write in English, but when I invent a story, when I write a children’s book, I need all the potentiality of the language. And my language is Italian.
I can improve my English as much as I can – and I’m actually trying to do that – but I’m sure it will never run in my mind, in my thoughts, in my imagination as Italian does. When I write a book I need to feel deeply the language I’m using, because the choice of every single word is important.
Nevertheless, I wanted my dearest children’s book, The little girl behind the mirror, also in English, because I think this story deserves to go beyond the Italian borders. But I wanted it written in an English as good as the Italian of La bambina dietro allo specchio. This was he challenge.
I’ve been lucky, because I found her. She is Leanne McKinnon Young, professional translator, native English speaker, and adopted by my country. She is the translator of my book, and I’m so happy of the result. Ok, given what I just said, I should not judge the level of the English translation, right?
Right, that’s why I didn’t really trust myself until I got the feedback from different native speakers, two of them teachers dealing with children and English language every day. So now I can conclude that the English edition of my book is just wonderful, and let me say this.
Give a look to this review by Miss Jenny to have an idea of what I mean.
