Cultural and Social Inclusion Efforts – A Significant Aspect of Early Lithuanian Children’s Literature

Abstract

Children’s literature is an important part of national culture. Its mission has always been to help mature a young person, to form valuable foundations of personality. The aim of the article is to reveal the work of early Lithuanian children’s literature, especially of the 19th century, playing an important role in the life of society, i. e. playing the role of a mechanism of cultural and social inclusion, changing society and human mentality. It is necessary to emphasise that the field of children’s literature discussed here also includes early Lithuanian writing, which cannot be directly considered children’s literature, but it undoubtedly integrated the care for children (in the form of catechisms, elementary publishing, etc.). What functions of cultural and social inclusion did the texts intended for children (or also for children) perform, and what impact did they have? Methods used: sociology of literature, cultural analysis, interpretation of the text. The phenomenon of inclusion is an important aspect of Lithuanian children’s literature and culture. This is also testified by the history of Lithuanian books for children and works of particular writers. It is significant that in the cultural situation of the 19th century, children’s literature contributed to overcoming children’s illiteracy and helped create and unite the readership community in the making. Children (and often youth) were getting used to the book, a completely new form of communication for them. Little by little, people became aware of the importance of reading, writing, and education in general. Some texts of educational type have been left by Lithuanian writers of the 18th–19th centuries, and their traditions were continued by the creators of the early 20th century, portraying the fate of the book smuggler, the wish of a country child to learn, the authority of a published book, and other similar aspects. The book and the ability to read decrease seclusion, include the child and the youth into community life, and open wider horizons for thinking. Different aspects of inclusion (and there are more of them than mentioned in this paper) can also be found in modern children’s literature. A book and literature dedicated to the child or young person help to survive social seclusion, isolation and show the ways and means of overcoming them. Finally, children’s literature adjusts to the social environment, participates in society modelling, change, and establishes itself as an integral part of an inclusive society. Today children’s literature is perceived as an integral part of an inclusive society.