September 09, 2022
No bum notes in translation
A New Zealand children’s book that has become a global bestseller over the past decade is coming out in te reo Māori
Translator Stephanie Huriana Fong says the biggest challenge turning I Need a New Bum into Kia Hou Taku Tou was matching the rhymes.
She says it was important to keep the essence of Dawn McMillan’s original story and its unique appeal to younger readers.
“It’s about the toilets and the bums and the farts and all of that stuff but actually it’s he rhyme that makes it really catchy and it sticks in their heads, I think that’s the beauty of it all and I think that’s how Dawn writes. It would have done a disservice to her writing if I hadn’t aimed to do the same in Maori,” Fong says.
I Need a New Bum!, or as it’s translated into American, I need a New Butt!, is ranked at #82 on Amazon’s list of best selling Children’s Beginner Readers and #233 in Children’s Humor.