Framing Sensitive Topics: Multimodal Adaptation in the Covers of Children’s Picture Books Translated from English into Persian

Shahidi, Pegah; Takfalah, Mohadeseh

doi:10.22054/tir.2026.96351.1101

Framing Sensitive Topics: Multimodal Adaptation in the Covers of Children’s Picture Books Translated from English into Persian

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Pegah Shahidi ¹

Mohadeseh Takfalah ²

¹ PhD Candidate in Translation Studies, Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

² MA Student in Translation Studies, Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

10.22054/tir.2026.96351.1101

Abstract

Although picture books are often associated with entertainment, through the interplay of visual and verbal modes, they construct richer meaning and give children an accessible way to engage with complex emotional and situational experiences such as loss and trauma. However, little attention has been paid to how the visual elements of translated picture books are adapted for target audiences, particularly on sensitive topics. This study therefore compares the verbal and visual modes of the covers of ten picture books on sensitive topics, using Painter et al.’s (2013) model, to examine the extent to which the target covers retain the inviting and affective qualities of the source covers. Although the cover illustrations of the Persian translations differ in composition from those of their English-language counterparts, both establish a similar atmosphere for children, supporting a comparable affective framing of the sensitive topics for young readers. The findings further highlight the Iranian publishing industry’s engagement with the translation and publication of picture books addressing sensitive topics, as well as its apparent attention to the visual representation of such topics through cover illustrations.

Keywords

Picture books, children’s literature, book covers, sensitive topics, multimodal translation

Subjects