From: Barbara Tobin <barbarat>
Date: Mon, 08 Jul 2002 23:36:52 +0800

Robin asked about the "Americanization" of Bob Graham's books. I know at least that the title of his delightful picture book "Queenie the Bantam" was changed in the US edition to something like "Queenie, One of the Family". I guess Americans aren't supposed to know that bantams are hens. Surely the context of the cover illustration clues kids in:
"Queenie the ---- " accompanied by a picture of a hen... is it really so hard? Isn't that what predictable text is all about in helping kids learn to read? Is it 'dumming down", or is it just a matter of $$$?

I often notice quite minor changes from Australian to US editions that irritate me, as I feel they lose the Australian flavor, whilst making little difference. Another example that is not quite clear in my memory now is from the wonderful Japanese Australian author-illustrator Junko Mirimoto's picture book, The Two Bullies, based on an old Japanese folk tale, I think. All my materials are back in the US so I am can't check up my references, sorry. I think it was in relation to use of the word
'bathroom' for 'toilet',which would never be used in Australia (and cracks up my relatives when I ask for 'the bathroom', that isn't, in fact, a bathroom).

I was dismayed to discover on amazon.com just now that this and Mirimoto's other books (eg the Japanese folk tale, Inch by Inch) are now out of print in the US. Her autobiographical picture book, My Hiroshima, was a terrific contribution to that genre.

Sigh, Pamela Allen (another expatriate New Zealander), Junko Morimoto, Alison Lester--- the list goes on.... or rather, off.

Do check out Lester's 'Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo', though, if you haven't already seen it--- a delightful addition to her series about her cast of seven unique pre-schoolers. This time she sends 'Ernie' up to the Northern Territory to interact with the Aboriginal kids in Arnhem Land. Lester bases this on her experience as artist-in-residence up there, and had these school kids help edit her book, since it was based on them.

I was fortunate on one of my trips to that wonderful Fremantle Children's Literature Centre that Frane Lessac spoke of (I met Frane there last week---hi, Frane!), to see all of Lester's original artwork and editorial correspondence for 'Ernie...' on display, I was interested to learn that she was subsequently encouraged to include a map of the area, since it was revealed that many Australian kids don't really know where Arnhem Land is. Usually, such location maps are additions to American editions, as in Mem Fox's Possum Magic, the original Australian edition of which did not include that map of Australia at the back.

Sorry for another long winded post. 'So much to tell you'..... but let's leave John Marsden until later!

Barbara Tobin (barbarat at gse.upenn.edu).
Received on Mon 08 Jul 2002 10:36:52 AM CDT