How my kids books about bullying came to be translated into Basque
In 2015 we went to live in the Basque country to learn Spanish because it was a region of Spain where English wasn’t widely spoken. Our planned year turned into two and we learned a lot of Spanish and a tiny amount of Basque. It is a very difficult language to learn as it has no relation to any of the Latin languages (or any language anywhere). But what an amazing place and culture.
I adored the small town we lived in (Hondarribia) and collected my sketches of life there into a book, A Basque Diary.
Whilst we were living there I started work on my trilogy of books about bullying aimed at kids 8 to 12 years old: FAB (Friends Against Bullying) Club. I shared the book with my Intercambio Spanish/English learning group as the reading level was good for many of them. One of my friends in the group (Itziar) is a teacher and she shared it with another friend (Eneko) who spent a lot of time reading stories to children. Both thought that the book would work really well in Basque (bullying is also a problem for Basque schools) and they began working on a translation.
In 2017 we came home to New Zealand and Eneko sent the book and its 2018 sequel (FAB Club 2 - Friends Against Cyberbullying) to the Basque publisher, Elkar, who have bookstores all over the region.
After a little back and forth, Elkar signed up to publish the two existing books in Basque as well as the third one (FAB Club 3 - The Big Match) which I published this year. They have just released the first two and I was really excited when Itziar found them in one of Elkar’s bookshops in downtown Bilbao.
Elkar contacted me to ask me to record a promotional video for the second book. Cool!
In Basque.
I find even reading the language so hard. Which is why it took me nearly a week to get close to being able to pronounce the translation of the script I wrote. Here it is – I am sure anyone who can speak Basque will wince at my pronunciation, but I tried.
It has been a really rewarding experience working with the publisher and my Basque friends. My hope is that the book ends up in the hands of a lot of Basque children and that it helps them have a better time at school than I did between the ages of 8 and 12.
Mi Diario en el Pais Vasco: Hondarribia: Hasta Luego: Agur!
Las dos semanas que pasé visitando Hondarribia y a mis amigos pasaron en un santiamén. Por ahora, regreso a Nueva Zelanda, pero sé que volveré a Pais Vasco.
(The two weeks I spent visiting Hondarribia and my friends went by in a flash. For now, I’m heading back to New Zealand, but I know I’ll be back to the Basque Country)
Hondarribia, seen from the ferry to Hendaye, beside the Bidasoa estuary that leads to Txingudi bay
Mi Diario en el Pais Vasco: Hondarribia: Salud y Seguridad
Estoy tan contenta de ver que todavía no hay ninguna tontería sobre la salud y la seguridad en Hondarribia.
(I’m so glad to see that there is still no over-the-top health and safety nonsense in Hondarribia.)
Mi Diario en el Pais Vasco: Festivo de Hondarribia: Kutxa
Lamento no haber estado en Hondarribia este julio, ya que el festivo de la mujer con la caja en la cabeza es mi favorito.
(I’m sorry I wasn’t in Hondarribia this July, as the festival of the woman with the box on her head is my favourite.)
