Il più classico dei coccodrilli russi. Note sulle traduzioni italiane di Krokodil di Kornej Čukovskij

Among the classics of Russian children’s literature translated in Italian, the absence of two masterpieces such as Samuil Marshak (1887-1964) and Kornei Chukovsky (1882-1969) is quite significant. While the former was sporadically translated in the second half of the last century but has not yet found its place in the Italian literary canon, two translations of Krokodil, considered by past and present critics to be one of Kornei Čukovsky’s children’s literature master-pieces, were published in 2020 and 2021, less than a year apart. This article focuses on the comparison between the source text and its translations into Italian, and highlights the strategies implemented by the two translators with regards to the translation project carried out by them: their choices are identified and discussed taking into consideration marketing strategies, readership, the role of illustrations and other factors.