Barnboken – Journal of Children's Literature Research
Not a member yet
527 research outputs found
Sort by
”Stenarna de suttit på / står ännu kvar”: Ekokritiska läsningar av Barbro Lindgrens poesi
No full text”The stones where they sat / are still there”: Ecocritical Readings of Barbro Lindgren’s Poetry
Taking its cue from questions raised in ecocritical theory, this article studies some of the central themes in the poetry of Swedish ALMA laureate Barbro Lindgren: the non-hierarchical attitude towards all that lives and exists; the cycle of life and death that is a fundamental condition of existence for human and non-human animals as well as for trees and plants; and the exploration of scales that often aims to turn away from or overturn the traditional anthropocentric ways of thinking. The article argues that while Lindgren’s poetry can be read and interpreted from many perspectives, ecocriticism offers fruitful insights into her poetic work, with its stress of the anthropocentric versus the ecocentric, and the potential of scale critique. It also argues that Lindgren’s poetical oeuvre as a whole sheds light on her foundational orientation towards life, death and time, and that Lindgren does not differentiate in theme or message when writing for different audiences. The individual’s experience of life as a finite experience is always contrasted by the larger perspective, where life and death are ever-present and perpetual
Paratexts and Translation of the Exotic: The German, French, and English Covers of Maria Parr’s Vaffelhjarte and Tonje Glimmerdal
No full textThis article investigates how the covers of two novels, Vaffelhjarte (Waffle Hearts, 2005) and Tonje Glimmerdal (Astrid the Unstoppable, 2009) by the Norwegian children’s fiction author Maria Parr, are visually and verbally translated into German, French, and English. The central question of this study is how representations of characters, theme, and geographical context are rendered in the target text paratexts. Methodologically, the study is inspired by Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen’s grammar of visual design. The results show that the target paratexts to a large extent reflect the novel, but in different ways and not necessarily by staying close to the source paratexts. Previous research on paratexts and translation shows that exotic source text elements tend to be foregrounded in translation. This is something that we also see regarding the French and the British Parr translations, but not the German. Drawing on previous research by Kathryn Batchelor and Maria Pujol-Valls, we would like to put forward the hypothesis that verbal text – that is, the narrative in the novel – and paratexts behave differently in translation. As verbal text, according to previous research, often is more adapted to the target culture when migrating from a peripheral system (Norway) to more central ones (France and Great Britain), the opposite seems to be the case for translated paratexts, where exotic source culture elements are reinforced in central systems. Concerning the German cover, where there was no foregrounding of exotic source culture elements, we raise the possibility that such foregrounding is not needed, since German readers are already familiar with Scandinavian children’s literature
”och mymlan flög / och mjölken for”: Barnläsarna och poesin i Tove Janssons bilderbok Hur gick det sen?
No full textThe Child Readers and Poetry in Tove Jansson’s Picturebook The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My
Abstract: Tove Jansson’s picturebook Hur gick det sen? Boken om Mymlan, Mumintrollet och lilla My (The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My) from 1952 is a book which makes use of its material aspects in many regards, employing the interactivity of the picturebook format to its maximum. Given the fact that it is written in verse, and is considered a classic by all means, it is surprising to find that the function that poetry plays within the book has been scarcely explored in prior research. By examining how the format of this particular picturebook guides the manner in which the child reader experiences it, and by studying the function of poetry within that framework, the article shows that poetry potentially plays a vital role in how child readers make sense of it. In particular, the role of poetry manifests itself as an opportunity for child readers to – at their own pace, and in their own manner – deal with the delicate balance between the attachmentseeking struggles of the anxious character of Moomin, on the one hand, and the exploratory individuation of the adventurous character of Little My, on the other. Through these examinations, the article demonstrates how the use of poetry can facilitate an emancipatory opportunity for child readers within picturebooks – and how this potential is ever-present within the format and the reading situation of picturebooks for children in general. 
Breaking the Silence about the Animals We Eat: Representations of the Inherent Value of Nonhuman Animals in Children’s Picturebooks
No full textSome 77 billion terrestrial animals are reared for human consumption globally every year. The moral implications of killing animals for food and the material conditions of these animals in intensive animal agriculture have seldom been discussed in children’s literature. The purpose of this article is to examine how these socially and culturally maintained silences are broken in two Nordic children’s picturebooks, Swedish Älskade lilla gris (Dear Little Pig, 1982) by Ulf Nilsson and Eva Eriksson and Finnish Kinkkulin jouluyllätys (Little Ham’s Christmas Surprise, 2010) by Teija Rekola and Timo Kästämä. The books’ pig protagonists are determined not to die, embodying the dualistic status inherent in the animality of farmed animals; they are subjects and objects, living beings and food-to-become. Further, this article explores the representation of the inherent value of so-called farmed animals and how it can be narrated-to-exist by concepts gleaned from Western animal rights philosophy, especially the capabilities approach by Martha Nussbaum. In the two books, inherent value is expressed in significantly different modes. Älskade lilla gris discusses multispecies families, autonomous animality, and emancipation, whereas Kinkkulin jouluyllätys uses a more traditional mode involving an anthropomorphic animal story, idyllic setting, and humanized subjectivity. Analysis focuses on the representation of nonhuman individuality, agency, sentience, animality, and interaction with humans. Both books present active and sentient individuals with varying degrees of animality. One celebrates its protagonist’s pighood but also contrasts it with the confined conditions of an animal industrial complex. The other employs a human-like pig protagonist on the run from his slaughterer and whose pighood is limited to his appearance and intended use. 
Philip Nel, Lissa Paul & Nina Christensen (red.), Keywords for Children's Literature
No full textReview/Recensio
Finns det kvinnliga astronauter? Om könsneutral och inkluderande översättning av faktaböcker för barn
No full textAre There Any Female Astronauts? On Gender-Inclusive Translation of Non-Fiction Books for Children
This article deals with gender-inclusive translation of information books for children. Translation solutions drawn from three non-fiction books translated from French to Swedish by different translators are discussed in terms of gender neutrality and inclusion. Analysis reveals that, although the Swedish translations are comparatively free in relation to the original texts, the translators differ in their tendency to make use of gender-inclusive translation strategies, such as employing gender-neutral occupational terms, avoiding masculine generic forms, reformulating gender-biased passages, representing parenthood as more equal and making women visible in the translation by the explicit mention of female experiences and characters. While emphasizing the importance of being attentive to gender issues in information books for young children, it is argued that gender-neutralising interventions can be made in translations of this text type without putting the overall purpose of the book at risk
