April 9, 2012

Children's books in languages other than English

As part of my Future Fellowship research I have collected many children's books written in languages other than English. I have been considering the vocabulary, illustrations, and conventions used by authors, illustrators and publishers in different cultures. This weekend I found a wonderful bookshop in Sydney that specializes in Japanese and Chinese books (including extensive children's book sections). It is called Kinokuniya, and think I will be visiting it again.

Japanese books are traditionally opened from right to left and written from top to bottom. However, many contemporary Japanese children's books are opened from left to right, and are written horizontally to mirror English conventions.