I back-translated 蚯蚓的日记 (originally Diary of a Worm) as a language learning exercise, and decided after all that work to share it here online.

But first: You can purchase the original English version here.

Second: You have two options for reading along in English, 汉字, or pīnyīn:

• Download the cheatsheet (PDF) for reference if you get stumped on the Chinese in the images.
• The text (English, 汉字, pīnyīn) for each page is also in the captions at the bottom of each image, but it’s ugly and messy and I don’t have time to make it better. I suggest the cheatsheet, unless you don’t think you’ll need it.

Third: Does anyone have a better translation for “我的排便日记”？ I went with “My Pooping Diary” after a coworker suggested “My Defecation Diary.” It’s the title of one of the books in the worm’s homework pile in image #27. I’ve never seen the original English text.

You can leave comments at the bottom of this page (please point out mistakes if you see them!). Click a thumbnail to start the slideshow.

[***This is for Chinese language learning purposes only and strictly non-commercial. If the author, illustrator, translator, or publisher has a problem, please just let us know -- e-mail: joel at chinahopelive.net -- and we'll take it offline it immediately.***]