The aim of this contribution is to prove the usefulness of the concept of paratranslation as a methodological tool for the study of paratextual elements in translation. The contribution opens with a brief introduction to the concept of paratranslation, a new term in translation studies coined by the Translation and Paratranslation research group at the University of Vigo. The readers’ attention is then drawn to orthotypography as a key paratextual element in the transmission of meaning in translation. A detailed analysis of the typographical image of the title letters in the covers of Dans ma maison, il y a… and Dans ma fôret, il y a …, two children’s books published by the French publishing house Mila, is then undertaken. An understanding of the essential role played by the meaning of playful stripe symbology in the construction of children’s imagery is achieved through the reading and interpretation of the letters’ typographical format in both books. Having described the way in which the paratextual component was disregarded by the Spanish publishing house Imaginarium, the contribution concludes by pointing out the pressing need for a permanent dialogue between translators and editors to ensure that no translation is published without its corresponding paratranslation.