SUMMARY

This issue is dedicated to Motiejus Valančius (1801–1875), a founder of Lithuanian children’s literature, whose 225th birth anniversary is being commemorated throughout Lithuania. The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania has declared this year a jubilee year of Motiejus Valančius. His Vaikų knygelė (“Children’s Book”) (1868) was written in the Samogitian dialect; therefore, this issue pays attention to the phenomenon of children’s literature written in Samogitian and other dialects, as well as to the 19th-century contexts, including Simonas Daukantas (1793–1864) and others. Not coincidentally, the issue’s editorial, “Valančius Addresses Children in Samogitian,” is devoted to this topic and is symbolically published in the Samogitian dialect as well. Further attention is devoted to the traditional IBBY spring message – this time, Cyprus’s address to readers around the world, written by Elena Perikleous. The Children’s Book Day poster was illustrated by Sandra Eleftheriou. We present an open letter to Rubinaitis readers by the Lithuanian children’s literature classic Selemonas Paltanavičius. In the traditional rubric “The Reviews”, publications evaluating Lithuanian children’s literature in 2025 are presented: Kęstutis Urba writes about realistic prose, Antanas Šimkus about poetry, and Kristina Vaisvalavičienė about the collection of non-fi ction books for children. In the rubric “The Anniversaries”, an article by Dalia Karatajienė is published on the illustrations by the prominent Lithuanian artist Audrius Puipa (1960–1997) for Motiejus Valančius’s stories. In the rubric “Retro”, a publication prepared by Džiuljeta Maskuliūnienė, titled “Palangos Juzė That Turned into an Emblem,” is presented. It explores the artistic interpretations of Motiejus Valančius’s famous novella Palangos Juzė (“Juzė of Palanga”) (1869) – including sculptures and applied arts works – depicting the story’s main character, the traveling tailor Jūzupas Viskantas. In the rubric “The Articles”, an article by Roma Bončkutė, “The Life of Peliūzė in Simonas Daukantas’s Rubinaitis: Origins of the Adapted Translation,” is published. It argues that “the reception of Daukantas’s translation can be regarded as Motiejus Valančius’s Palangos Juzė.” In the rubric “The Contexts”, Juozas Pabrėža discusses “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, published in Samogitian and other Lithuanian dialects. Sigita Petrunina discusses her collection of “The Little Prince” in various languages from around the world. In the rubric “The Readings of My Childhood”, which explores old traditions, writer and Lithuanian language teacher Rita Latvėnaitė-Kairienė is interviewed by writer Birutė Jonuškaitė. In the rubric “Photos Tell”, Kristina Vaisvalavičienė provides valuable information about literary dioramas created by children, highlighting them as an excellent form of promoting literature. In the new rubric “The Story of a Single Text”, Laimutė Adomavičienė describes how Ignė Zarambaitė’s popular novel for teenagers and young adults Juodavandeniai was born. In the rubric “With a Close Glance”, two valuable books are reviewed: Iliustruota Žemaitės gyvenimo ir kūrybos istorija (“Illustrated History of Žemaitė’s Life and Work”) by Lina Mickutė and Birutė Bikelytė (reviewed by Vilija Dailidienė), and Kaip pasakoti istorijas vaikams (“How to Tell Stories to Children”) by Silke Rose West and Joseph Sarosy (reviewed by Vaiva Schoroškienė). A bibliography titled “Children’s and Young Adults’ Books of 2025,” compiled by Roma Kišūnaitė, is provided in the form of a QR code. The issue concludes with the Chronicles section, and for the final cover rubric, “Writers and Characters of Children’s Literature in Artworks,” Urtė Šulskienė prepared a publication on Liutauras Griežė’s sculpture “The Reading Girl” in Širvintos. It is dedicated to the Lithuanian children’s literature classic, poet Justinas Marcinkevičius (1930–2011).

Žurnalas „Rubinaitis“, 2026 Nr. 1 (117)