Pages Menu
Categories Menu

Translations by Lyn

In addition to writing my own books, I translate from Portuguese and Spanish into English. I started out translating song lyrics for a bilingual radio program on WRPI and now translate picture books, novels for children and teens, and scholarly articles in the social sciences. My picture book and graphic novel translations have received numerous accolades, and I’m always looking for new books to bring to English-language readers.

 

A 2024 Batchelder Honor Book!

 

Sixteen-year-old Raquel lives in a small town in Portugal where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Her parents are divorced, and her mom is always busy. She has two best friends and a boyfriend, but she wants something more. She’s just been suspended for cursing out a school aide asking about her father’s new marriage.

Then, from afar, she sees Pardalita, a senior and gifted artist who’s moving to Lisbon to study in the fall. The two girls get to know each other while working on a play. And Raquel falls in love.

Estrela, Joana. Pardalita. Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Hoboken, NJ: Levine Querido, 2023. ISBN 978-1-64614255-2, $21.99 hardcover; 978-1-6461425-6, $16.99 paperback.

“The elegant simplicity of this book belies the artistic depth and emotional resonance contained within.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Estrela uses a bold, inky line to depict both cozy moments bursting with warm detail and dynamic scenes that boast energy and youthfulness. Through a fledgling queer romance, the creator presents a story of change, connection, and transformation.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“…explores identity and sexuality in an authentically sweet and subtle way.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“In this quiet, thoughtful graphic novel…a girl moves from being a mostly passive participant in her own life to realizing she can break out of what is expected and shape her own destiny….this tender, warm book will likely enchant all romantic fans.” Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

“Quietly resonant and sincerely told.” — Kirkus Reviews

“…a realistic look at the confusion teens can feel as they navigate their sexual identities and their own place in the world.  The stark black and white illustrations work to create the mood of the story. …a wonderful addition to graphic novel collections, especially collections which need more diversity or books that have been translated.” — School Library Connection

2024 ALA/ALSC Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book

School Library Journal Best Books 2023, Best Graphic Novels

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon List, 2023

2024 USBBY Outstanding International Books

ALA/YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2024

2024 Rainbow Book List

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

 

Lion may be King of the Jungle, but lately he seems to care only about himself. His subjects are fed up, so they decide to try something new — hold an election! Once Owl explains the rules, the fun begins. Snake, Sloth, and Monkey all announce they will be candidates. But oh no, Lion is going to run too! It’s a wild campaign season as the animals hold rallies, debate, and even take a selfie or two, trying to prove why they’d make the best president.

An entertaining and enlightening introduction to how elections work.

Rodrigues, André, Larissa Ribeiro, Paula Desgualdo, and Pedro Markun. The President of the Jungle. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020. ISBN 978-1-9848-1474-6, $17.99 hardcover.

“A fun, lively, accessible primer on the democratic process (good for weary adults, too).” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Even though the subjects are animals, their election is a modern one with TV interviews and social media campaigns. The text is nonpartisan and animals come from a variety of real-world equivalent political backgrounds, such as political dynasties or grassroots candidates. . . . Ironically, a herd of animals may be a smart way to humanize presidential elections for our young future voters.” — School Library Journal

“Kudos for hitting most of the important election notes, including campaigning, ballots and voting, and how democracy works (a glossary is also provided). Children will be attracted by the lively, brightly colored art, combining cutpaper shapes and loose pencil lines. A clever introduction to a newsworthy topic.” — Booklist

 

WorldinaSecondThe World in a Second, first published in Portugal as O Mundo Num Segundo, was my debut translation. Through large-format illustrations and concise text, it portrays the many events that take place at the same moment around the world. Depicting 23 different places, some of which are named while others are represented through clues only, the book invites us into routines, habits, cultures, and landscapes that reflect our diversity as well as our similarities. A world map at the back of the book helps fit the pieces together by locating each illustration in place and time.

Martins, Isabel Minhós. The World in a Second. Illustrated by Bernardo L. Carvalho. Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Brooklyn, NY: Enchanted Lion Books, 2015. ISBN 978-1-59270-157-5, $18.95 hardcover.

A 3-D illustration of a spread from The World in a Second using LEGO pieces, on display at New Jersey BrickFestLive.

A 3-D illustration of a spread from The World in a Second using LEGO pieces, on display at New Jersey BrickFestLive.

“[a] mesmerizing vision of a thrillingly expansive world” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Each moment leaps to life with vividly colored illustrations that spread across two pages and capture time and place with remarkably evocative detail and varied, exquisite composition….The central magic of this book lies in the sophisticated, elaborate treatment of an idea that sounds like it was plucked from a child’s daydream.” — Boston Globe

“A work of art, with much potential classroom usage” — School Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books of 2015

Boston Globe Best Children’s Books of 2015

CCBC Choices, 2016

 

jacket_medFirst published in Brazil in 1987 as O Menino Que Aprendeu a Ver, and now in its ninth edition in Portuguese, Lines, Squiggles, Letters, Words is the story of Pedro, a wide-eyed child who looks out at the world with curiosity and pleasure, finding it endlessly surprising. But there is mystery too, as in the puzzling pictures he sees, made up of elusive lines and squiggles. When Pedro starts school, his great curiosity grows even greater with each letter he learns. Suddenly his world is changing, as the lines and squiggles become letters and words.

Rocha, Ruth. Lines, Squiggles, Letters, Words. Illustrated by Madalena Matoso. Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Brooklyn, NY: Enchanted Lion Books, 2016. ISBN 978-1-59270-208-4, $16.95 hardcover.

“Rocha’s text is marvelously child-centered, never leaving Pedro’s perspective and realistically evoking the way letter acquisition turns nonsense into sense for most children. Matoso’s striking, posterlike illustrations use a limited palette of, mostly, red, pink, blue, black, and olive, allowing figures and patterns to occasionally merge with negative space, visually reinforcing the mental gymnastics involved in deciphering letters, her awareness of environmental print as keen as Pedro’s.” — Kirkus Reviews

“a smart, thoughtful chronicle of learning in action” — Publisher’s Weekly

2017 USBBY Outstanding International Books

CCBC Choices, 2017

 

The author and illustrator are Italian, but The Queen of the Frogs was first published in Portugal as A Rainha Das Rãs. When a mysterious crown falls into a pond, the little frog who finds it is instantly pronounced the queen. But when her royal subjects start to question her authority, she must prove she’s fit to rule — if she can.

Cali, Davide. The Queen of the Frogs. Illustrated by Marco Somà. Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2017. ISBN 978-0-8028-5481-0, $16.00 hardcover.

A Children’s Book Council “CBC Hot off the Press” title

 

Three Balls of Wool (Can Change the World) is a story that is very dear to me. Published in Portugal as Com 3 Novelos (O Mundo Dá Muitas Voltas), it’s based on actual events and follows a family that escapes the dictatorship in Portugal in the late 1960s, seeking freedom and a better life. Their journey takes them to Communist Czechoslovakia, where “all children go to school.” But while the children go to school, people don’t have freedom of choice or the right to speak their minds. Refusing to accept a life without freedom, the mother gets to work, turning a bleak reality inside out and upside down. In the end, these refugees spark a movement for change in their community.

Cristina, Henriqueta. Three Balls of Wool (Can Change the World). Illustrated by Yara Kono. Translated from Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Brooklyn, NY: Enchanted Lion Books, 2017. ISBN 978-1-59270-220-8, $16.95 hardcover.

“a quiet and sensitively observed look at a family’s efforts to stay safe in uncertain times.” — Publishers Weekly

“gently introduces the trauma of exile to young readers and can lead to discussions and, hopefully, a better understanding of being uprooted….A timely story of refugees and the strength of individuality over conformity.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Loosely inspired by the experiences of real families fleeing dictatorship only to find continued oppression under Communism, this modern fable presents a hopeful twist by showing how art can inspire hope and change. The first person narration is direct, balancing a child’s understanding with the heavy topic. . . . [The illustrations] create lovely cohesion between plot and art. VERDICT: A good choice to provoke discussion about freedom and oppression with older readers.” — School Library Journal

A 2018 Skipping Stones Honor Award book

 

What to do when your little one won’t go to sleep? Based on sleep science and written by an internationally-renowned pediatric clinical psychologist, this soothing bedtime story models deep breathing, visualization, progressive relaxation, and more. Includes expert sleep tips to create a healthy bedtime routine that’s good for the whole family!

Almeida, Clementina. Olive the Sheep Can’t Sleep. Illustrated by Ana Camila Silva. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2018. ISBN 978-1-58089-838-6, $12.95 hardcover.