Translating for children is of very special importance for Finland. In spite of the flourishing Finnish children's literature, Finns must rely heavily on translations. A case is made for the dialogic nature of translation. When translating dialogically for the child, the translator should anticipate the response of the child‐reader, listen to his reader, reach out to the child. Some scholars see only one way of translating well: reproducing the original text as faithfully as possible. This paper presents an alternative thesis that the best way to respect the child and children's literature is to give new life to texts, to create translations that live and breathe while being read.