Kiki's Delivery Service

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Wait!
Review: Given the popularity of the Harry Potter books and the glorious animated film version by Hayao Miyazaki, I'm amazed that it's taken this long for this book to appear in English. Eiko Kadono's "Witch's Delivery Service" (Majo no Takkyubin) also deals with the education of a witch child; in this case, a rite of passage for a witch named Kiki. She has to spend her thirteenth year on her own in a witchless town, making a living by her witch craft. The book is a celebration of the independent spirit of its protagonist and the changes she goes through at this pivotal time of life.

I'd like to give this book the full five stars, but I have a couple of caveats. One is the cover illustration by Irvin Cheung, showing a robust, rosy-cheeked Euro-witch. Somehow, it totally misses the warm and evocative line-drawings by Akiko Hayashi, which fortunately are included in the book.

Translating is one of the world's most thankless job. If the translation is really fine, the reader shouldn't even notice it. The irregularities should be smoothed out, the oddities of one language seamlessly patched with the oddities of another.

Lynne E. Riggs has created a mostly complete, very readable English version of Kadono's book, but there are a few quintessentially Japanese touches that got missed. At one point, just before she leaves home, Kiki tells her mother, "Anata no musume wo, shinjinasaittara, shinjinasai. Mou yooi wa dekitemasu." Riggs's reading of this ("You should trust your own daughter more! Believe me, I'm already ready to go.") is literate and understandable. However, one of my Japanese teachers pointed out that this is an old Japanese song. A Japanese reader would certainly pick up on this, while a Westerner would not. My attempt at translation would cue a Western reader by preserving the rhythm:

"I'm your daugh-ter, o mother dear,
Just trust in me, I say,
Have faith in me.
I've got plans, I'm al-read-y pre-pared..."

Nitpicking? Maybe, but also an illustration of the pitfalls awaiting the translator.

As I said above, though, this is a fine translation of a fine book, long overdue in English.

Rating:
Summary: finally in english print
Review: i am so happy that they re-released this book in english. the english version was out of print but here it is again. it is different from the movie from which it is taken from. there is even more to the adventure in the book. i just wish they have english versions of the other 3 books.

Rating:
Summary: Batchi-guu! (^-^)
Review: I haven't read the book but I assume it's the same as the movie. I first saw this movie in Japan and I fell in love with it and all following Miyazaki movies. He has a gift when it comes to story telling. The characters, with Jiji the black cat as my favorite, are unforgettable.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Wait!
Review: I've always been a big fan of Miyazaki's movies, but the best thing about this picture-book edition of KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE is that kids who are beginning readers really enjoy it. The English version of KIKI'S has been available for several years, and kids who have seen the movie are eager to read the book, or have it read to them.

The picture quality is excellent, and the text is in good English, unlike some translations I've seen.

Too bad the book is hard to find. My copy has been damaged, and I wish it were easier for me to find another!

Rating:
Summary: Charming Adaptation of the Movie
Review: I've always been a big fan of Miyazaki's movies, but the best thing about this picture-book edition of KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE is that kids who are beginning readers really enjoy it. The English version of KIKI'S has been available for several years, and kids who have seen the movie are eager to read the book, or have it read to them.

The picture quality is excellent, and the text is in good English, unlike some translations I've seen.

Too bad the book is hard to find. My copy has been damaged, and I wish it were easier for me to find another!