Modern Social Science Research

The role of child readers is often unconsciously overlooked in the practice of translating children’s literature, resulting in a loss of playful elements in the translated text. This study examines the The Last Kids on Earth series as a case study to explore how these elements can be preserved. Throughout the translation process, the translator adopted a “reader-centered” approach, utilizing feedback surveys from child readers to dynamically refine translation strategies and techniques. By analyzing examples such as naming, dialogue, puns, and culturally specific terms, this study argues that domestication strategies—combined with methods like free translation and creative translation—enable linguistic adaptation, aligning with children’s horizon of expectations and effectively conveying the playful elements. Additionally, it proposes that foreignization strategies, alongside techniques such as amplification and explanatory translation, can provide essential context to address textual indeterminacy, ensuring that readers comprehend the playful elements.

Children’s literature translation practice; Reception aesthetics theory; Preservation of playful elements; Readers’ response; Dynamic adjustment; Transcreation of wordplay