The authors' responses
QUESTION 4 To The Boy In Berlin was FANTASTIC. What are you both working on now, will there be a part 2, are you going to write more books together or are you both working on different stories now and what are they about? (Sierrah, Torquay State School)
ELIZABETH HONEY
Thanks, Sierrah. I hope there’ll be another Henni and Leo. We know how to write a book together now. I assure you that when Heike’s in Australia in August/September we’ll be tossing ideas around. Maybe Henni could go to Berlin. Hey, wouldn’t that be good!
What am I working on now? A picture book for little kids called I’m still awake, still, about a little boy who can’t sleep. It’s a collaboration with composer/musician Sue Johnson and the book will have a CD of lullabies at the back. I’m getting my ol’ paintbrush up to speed.
Heike’s going to translate Boy into German. It will be published there. Now that will be tricky, but if anybody can do it she can. I asked Heike, ‘How are you going to translate it?’ and she replied, ‘word by word.’ But it’s not that simple. The plot needs adjusting for German readers.
HEIKE BRANDT
The ending of the book opens up a lot of possibilities – there could be another story of Henni and Leo. Elizabeth and I will be thinking and talking about it when we meet in Australia this August/September. I would love to do it! Right now I am very busy translating, my next project will be translating To the Boy in Berlin into German which is no easy task – German readers don’t need Leo’s translations, so they will understand too early everything that is revealed to the English speaking reader later. They will, however, need translations of the English documents. Also, the German words won’t be anything special for a German reader – so some jokes won’t work the same way. There will have to be some slight changes and the German edition might be a bit different from the original one. This of course will be decided by me, Elizabeth and the publishers.
I am also thinking of writing a book for younger children – but in German of course!
