The third book I translated in 2025 was Born Bad, written by CK Smouha and illustrated by Stephen Smith. This book was first published in the UK in 2018, and I submitted the Chinese translation in July 2019. The Chinese version was almost published in 2023, and finally came out in 2025.
This book is CK Smoha’s picture book debut. The writing style is simple and plain. The “wolf” appears directly as the protagonist, and then a series of dialogues are carried out with other animals. It is a bit like a philosophical dialogue, and also has a sense of drama. The dialogue naturally includes all kinds of knowledge about the relevant animals. It seems playful and humorous on the surface, but it is full of metaphors about reality behind it.
狼身为狼，并不开心。
当他照镜子的时候，看起来很坏。
当他看起来很坏的时候，感觉很不好。
当他感觉很不好的时候，就会做坏事。
Wolf wasn’t happy being wolf.When he looked in the mirror, he looked BAD.
And when he looked bad, he felt bad, and
when he felt bad, he acted bad.
For example, the wolf wondered, “whether a leopard can change his spots?” The leopard replied, “I was born spotty and you were born bad.” The implicit knowledge point here is that the leopard’s spots are the distribution of fur pigments controlled by genetic genes. This is indeed innate. But is the “bad guy” really born?
For example, in reality, different patterns actually serve camouflage and ecological adaptation, and are part of diversity. But when the wolf pointed out that the chameleon’s color change is just for camouflage, the chameleon angrily retorted: ” I can be bright when I’m angry and dark when I’m sad. You’re not bad, you’re just ignorant!” — The implicit knowledge point here is: Chameleon’s color change is not only for camouflage, but also reflects emotions, light, body temperature changes or social signals. In fact, isn’t it the same for humans?
The following flounder, mimic octopus, seal babies and adult seals, metamorphosis of salamanders, reed frogs, etc. all involve very interesting knowledge points and associations. I really like the lesson that the flounder mother gave to the little flounder: “If you spend all your days lying on the ocean floor, your eyes will move to the top of your head.” — This is indeed an interesting “metamorphosis” phenomenon. Does this remind you of “lying flat”?
What surprised me most was the confession of the reed frog: “I grew up as a girl, and one day I woke up and I was a boy! At first I found it very confusing, but now I’m cool with it.” — This contains scientific truth and is a perfect combination of the natural characteristics of animals and literary metaphors.
So, what choices will the natural bad guy “Wolf”, who is inspired by (but not simply judged by) these animal companions, make?
This book deals with quite complex topics in a way that is easy for children to accept: identity, body changes, the eyes of others, self-acceptance… As a book review on Amazon said, “It celebrates diversity through humor and helps children understand differences.”
Stephen Smith’s illustrations are one of the most eye-catching highlights of this book. His art style is based on bold, bright colors and high contrast, creating a strong visual impact. He uses mixed media techniques and combines multiple art forms to make each illustration rich in layers and three-dimensionality. The whole book is a combination of pop and comic styles, and with the light tone of the story, it is especially suitable for reading with children to explore the relevant animal knowledge behind it, and there is also a certain space for adult interpretation.
I know that it is not easy for the Chinese version to keep the title “天生大坏蛋”! The word “坏 — bad” seems to be difficult to use in the title of a book now. In fact, this book is particularly suitable for use in the classroom to discuss topics such as “self-awareness” and “the diversity of good and evil” with children. By the way, you can also expand some interesting (and a little unpopular) animal knowledge.
My favorite part of the book is the words that the salamander said at the end to encourage the wolf:
“Everyone’s friends in this room”, said Salamander. “We won’t judge you.”
To accept your true self, you need courage, but you also need a truly friendly environment.
Translation number: 2025-03
English 
简体中文