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Averie Castro

Writing 2

29 January 2023

Translating Genres: Article to Children's Book

Genres serve as the basis of all writing and give authors a standard to which they can

effectively format their message for an intended audience. In his article Navigating Genres,

Kerry Dirk describes genres as something that “shape our everyday lives,”1 and when we break

apart and study different genres, “we can start to see how specific choices that writers make

result in specific actions.”2 Translating genres is an effective tool that many writers use where

they incorporate important aspects of writing from one genre, and transform it into an entirely

different genre. In doing so, we can relay an important message that was targeted to one specific

audience, and spread that message to an entirely new audience. My original article, “Sustainable

fashion consumption and the fast fashion conundrum: fashionable consumers and attitudes to

sustainability in clothing choice” by Lisa McNeill and Rebecca Moore, highlights the

detrimental effects associated with fast fashion. Authors McNeil and Moore crafted an academic

piece that works to promote sustainability, spreads awareness about the harm fast fashion causes,

and explains research that shows how aware we are of our own consumption habits. I wanted to

translate this article, as well as the key ideas associated within it, into a children's book. By

translating the article into a children's book, I was able to spread awareness about the harmful

effects of fast fashion to the new audience of children. The story follows a sea turtle, Sam, whose

home is destroyed by human consumption habits and fast fashion factories. Sam goes on an

1
“Navigating Genres”. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, vol. 1,
Parlor Press LLC, 2010, pp. 249-262.
2
“Navigating Genres”. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, vol. 1,
Parlor Press LLC, 2010, pp. 249-262.
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adventure to save the sea and learns all about fast fashion and the ways in which it is destroying

his home.

When performing a genre translation, it is essential to determine what information you

wish to communicate to your new audience. Translating a text from one genre to another comes

with a purpose. As writers, we must establish our purpose, and use this new genre to showcase

different ideas and perspectives from the original genre. When constructing my genre translation

and turning my article into a children’s book, I focused heavily on my new intended young

audience. We know in the early stages of life, children’s brains are like sponges. All information

that passes through the brain is absorbed completely, and the brain is constantly growing and

developing. Exposure to new ideas and topics throughout childhood serves as the foundation for

development. I decided that turning my article into a children’s book would be a highly effective

way to spread awareness to children and help them learn about current events, harmful consumer

habits, our environment, and making choices that are going to directly affect their future. When

they learn about these things at a young age, they are able to keep it with them and integrate it

into their minds as they grow and develop. This new audience is different from the original

article’s intended audience, as the authors created the original article to spread awareness to the

general public, and the concepts and communication style is too complex for young readers. The

original article may also be targeting business owners and well-known companies to bring

awareness and change to their production habits.

The academic article I read contained a lot of information about the facts of fast fashion,

as well as how it is used in everyday life. I wanted to reinforce the message regarding the

dangers of fast fashion and to highlight to children how harmful it can be to the environment.

The book shows Sam the sea turtle waking up in his home in the ocean and seeing it destroyed.
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There is trash everywhere and black dye from clothing has leaked into the sea. This depiction of

the ocean in such a harmful and unlivable state demonstrates the direct effects of fast fashion on

the homes of so many ocean animals. Additionally, I included a page where the character Claire

shows Sam an infographic about fast fashion, containing a definition of the term and explaining

why it is bad and the ways in which it is affecting the environment. This infographic directly

explains key ideas mentioned in the original article. Finally, on the last page I included a bit that

gives examples to the children on ways they can practice sustainable habits and help protect our

environment. I changed the article by making it more of a story based genre and less of an

informational article with research data. I left out the experimental aspect of the article because I

felt it didn’t work with the children’s book, and I instead focused more on explaining the main

point of the article.

Writing studies on children’s books reveal the typical conventions associated with them.

As we may know from growing up reading many children's books, they should consist of things

like: engaging elements, colorful pictures and graphics, short and concise sentences, and a story

that leaves them wanting to read more. Most of these elements were easy to incorporate within

my project, but difficulties still presented themselves. A challenge that came with translating the

genre was being able to relay such a strong, informational topic in a way that was very clear and

easy for children to understand. Once I created the storyline and crafted a plot for the characters,

it became easier to portray the ideas within the article. Another challenge was writing in rhyme

which I thought would be a lot more entertaining for children to read, and let things flow in a fun

way. At times it was difficult to find words that conveyed my message while also rhyming,

which took a bit of thinking. I also wanted the book to be engaging. That meant finding the right

illustrations, designing each page with a setting that translated the sentences, and including as
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many graphics and colors as possible. Once I completed the first few pages it became much

easier to come up with details to incorporate.

Translating genres allows writers to target a new intended audience and effectively relay

a specific message. Genres are adaptable to each person and they evolve over time as writers

translate them in their own unique ways. E. Shelly Reid discusses in her article, Ten Ways To

Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Student, how at times when “we

write to the rules”3writing can become something that“seems more like a chore than a living

process that connects people.”4 This quote can be applied to genres, for when we view genres

with a singular perspective, there is no room for them to evolve and adapt to each writer. By

translating my article into a children's book, I was able to target a whole new audience and teach

the relevant topic of fast fashion to a generation it will remain prominent to.

Bibliography

“Navigating Genres”. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel
Zemliansky, vol. 1, Parlor Press LLC, 2010, pp. 249-262.

Reid: Ten Ways to Think - WAC Clearinghouse.

https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces2/reid--ten-ways-to-think.pdf

3
Reid: Ten Ways to Think - WAC Clearinghouse.
https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces2/reid--ten-ways-to-think.pdf.
4
Reid: Ten Ways to Think - WAC Clearinghouse.
https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces2/reid--ten-ways-to-think.pdf.