St George is one of the most revered saints in the Maltese islands, and the legend of St George slaying the dragon has been recounted to generation after generation. Yet, to date there was no local retelling of the story in Maltese.
To fill this lacuna, Merlin Publishers have just published a Maltese translation of the legend of St George and the dragon: Il-leġġenda ta' San Ġorġ u d-Dragun. Perhaps not everyone knows that St George is hugely popular also in Spain, specifically in the Catalonia region where World Book Day originated.
Indeed, the legend goes that drops of blood from the slain dragon transformed into roses, and that people began to give a rose and a book on 23 April. From Catalonia, this tradition spread across the world - although in most places the association with roses has fallen by the wayside and the focus is nowadays on books - giving rise to World Book Day.
This new translation, by award-winning author Pierre J. Mejlak, retells in Maltese the story of St George in language accessible to younger children. Fully illustrated throughout, this is a stunning book that will have children aged 6 upwards enjoying the breathless adventure of the princess saved by the knight.
Publication of Il-leġġenda ta' San Ġorġ u d-Dragun was made possible with the assistance of the Catalan institute promoting Catalan culture in the world, the Institut Ramon Llull.
Merlin Publishers formally launched this new children's book on World Book Day at Qormi San Ġorġ Primary School, under the auspices of the President of Malta H.E. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca. Following a dramatisation and retelling of the story, the President was presented with a book and a rose, in line with the tradition, by a student from the school.
Il-leġġenda ta' San Ġorġ u d-Dragun is available from all bookshops, or online directly from www.merlinpublishers.com