The children's literature translation studies (CLTS) is
an evolving discipline, particularly in the Arab world.
Christiane Nord's translation-oriented text analysis follows a
long tradition of the functional theory including Katharina
Reiss's text type approach, Mary Snell-Hornby's integrated
approach, Holz-Mänttäri's translatorial action, and most
importantly, Hans J. Vermeer's Skopos theory. This paper
applies Christiane Nord's translation-oriented text analysis
(2005) to AbdutTawaab Youssef 's translated story: النايي الحاين
The Magic Flute in order to present a better translation.
AbdutTawaab Youssef is one of the pioneer writers of
children's literature in the Arab world. Youssef wrote all his
stories, including this story, to be read by Arabic-speaking
children. The story is translated by Dr. Loubna Youssef, the
author's daughter, to be read by English-speaking children.
By analyzing the source text (ST) following Nord's model,
some translation problems may arise. Accordingly, suggested
solutions are introduced to yield a better translation of the
target text (TT). Importantly, it is the effect of the better
translation on TT child reader that should be taken into
consideration.