Tre Maghi di Oz, ovvero tradurre Frank Baum e la letteratura per l'infanzia - Un' analisi traduttiva contrastiva di tre versioni de Il Meraviglioso Mago di Oz

This article is an analysis of three Italian translations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum. As a representative of children’s literature in the American literary tradition, as stated by Baum himself, this text has been translated and transformed into a film since its publication, becoming quite well-known. Through the analysis of the three Italian editions, published during ten years, the author tries to enlighten differences and similarities in the translations in order to show the way in which translated texts of children’s literature, even when universally accepted as masterpieces of this genre, are often bended and modified according to the underlying ideology both of the translator and of the receiving society and culture. Such an attitude demonstrates the low consideration that children literature has enjoyed since its origins, being considered as a material to be modified in order to instruct rather than entertain children. Thus, the translation analysis identifies three different Target texts which differ in their aims, respecting but very often changing the Source Text.