Taking Sybil’s idyllic childhood village life to Japanese readership

A haven of serenity and exquisite beauty where the daily chores were carried out with love and care and the kind, sensible and eccentric lived in harmony. This intriguing village-Gintota- in the coastal district of Galle is the setting for Sybil Wettasinghe’s celebrated book-Child in Me. The dexterity with which the author captures the vibrancy and essence of village life has enabled many a happy reader to be part of the story. As each page is turned and the story unfolds, the readers find themselves drinking tea at the village kade, sitting at the school close to the sea and enjoying a refreshing bath at the well.

This book which has captured the hearts of children and adults alike not surprisingly won the Gratiaen Prize in 1995. To enable more readers enjoy this book it has been translated into many languages. The Sinhala version of the book which has been re-printed six times is a bestseller. The book was translated into Tamil by Sarojini Devi Arunachalam and was also awarded the State Literary Award. ‘Child in Me’ was translated into Dutch in 1996. So widespread is the fame of this book that it has now been translated into yet another language-Japanese.
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The Japanese translation was accomplished by the Director of the Tokyo Children’s Library, Kyoko Matsuoka who is also a much recognized translator in Japan. Kyoko who is herself an author of children’s books, a former member of the Editorial Board of the Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) who has produced many useful books for young children was greatly appreciative of ‘Child in Me.’

“What a lovely piece of writing it is!” says Kyoko adding that Sybil is fortunate indeed to have had such “a blessed childhood” which she is able to recall with such stunning accuracy. Sybil has been successful in entertaining children for many years and has been the worthy recipient of many awards for art and literature. Her astonishingly sharp memory recalls every minute detail adding flavour to this account of her childhood in Gintota.

The Sunday Times - Shalomi Daniel