GIANNI RODARI IN THE UK AND IN THE US: A COMPLEX RECEPTION STORY. REVIEW OF C. ALBORGHETTI GIANNI RODARI AND HIS ENGLISH READERS. A DIALOGICAL PERSPECTIVE. ROMA: ARMANDO EDITORE, 2023

Abstract

The review of Gianni Rodari and His English Readers. A Dialogical Perspective by Claudia Alborghetti highlights the main steps in the translation and reception of Gianni Rodari’s works in the English-speaking countries. The comprehensive historical, paratextual, and translational analysis follows the evolution of Rodari’s books in English from the first UK translation back in 1965 to contemporary US ones. By adopting a translational and pedagogical perspective focussed on empathy, the study reveals how translation affects the empathising process in children’s literature and the role played by translators and other mediators. The empathy building process can be manipulated to adapt to the target cultural context and value system, and the empathic charge of books can be limited or diminished. However, the empathic dialogue of the author with their readers can also be retained in translation, allowing children to connect with a different culture and children’s literature to liberate its unique potential.

Keywords: Gianni Rodari, children’s literature translation, empathy, dialogic translation, paratext, reception, US publishing context, UK publishing context