Justinas Žilinskas ‘Mano Vilnius. Mano’ (‘My Vilnius. Mine’) (2015, Aukso žuvys)
This adventure book stars Simas and Aistė, who stumble into a ‘haunted house’ in Vilnius Antakalnio g. 25, where they meet the mysterious resident of the house – known as the Vilnius Chronicler or Annalist. The whole book is set in various places in Vilnius, where readers are invited to travel and have adventures together with the characters of the book.
Justinas Žilinskas „Mano Vilnius. Mano“
‘Vilnius. Eime!’ (‘Vilnius. Let’s go!’) (2017 and 2919, Aukso žuvys)
This three-part graphic novel is aimed at teenagers and illustrated by Akvilė Magicdust: ‘Vilnius. Let’s go! The Magic Map’, ‘Vilnius. Let’s Go! The Scary Secret of Užupis’, and ‘Vilnius. Let’s Go! The Deception in Naujamiestis’. Following the footsteps of the main characters Aistė and Simas, readers will be able to visit nineteen of Vilnius’ most famous landmarks and learn untold stories. Electronic publications.
Vilnius. Eime!
Compiled by Violeta Indriūnienė, Rita Pauliukevičiūtė, Alina Pavasarytė ir Birutė Valečkaitė ‘Vilniaus arkikatedros mįslės: knyga vaikams’ (‘Riddles of Vilnius Cathedral: a book for children’) (2017, Bažnytinio paveldo muziejus)
The first museum you can safely step into is the bell tower of Vilnius Cathedral. As soon as you walk through the door, ask for the book ‘The Riddles of Vilnius Cathedral’. You’ve probably already guessed who it’s for? This richly illustrated publication contains cut-outs, insets, stickers, and lift-up flaps (pop-up technology) that turn your explorations of the Cathedral into an interactive game. The book is based on the latest research by historians and art historians on Lithuania’s most important cathedral and its objects. However, don’t be put off by this – the text is not complicated and important concepts are explained.
Compiled by Nelė Kostinienė, Živilė Mikailienė, Lina Itagaki ‘Vilniaus rūmai ir jų šeimininkai’ (‘Vilnius Palaces and their Owners’) (2019, Tikra knyga)
The graphic novel written in playful language presents not only the political and dynastic vicissitudes, the characters of the dukes and even their pets, but also the history of the rebuilding of Vilnius castles from Gediminas’ dream to the present day. With 80 illustrations by Lina Itagaki and the genealogy of the rulers, this book will therefore be of interest not only to schoolchildren and kindergarteners, but also to their parents.
„Vilniaus rūmai ir jų šeimininkai“. Parengė: Nelė Kostinienė, Živilė Mikailienė, Lina Itagaki
Prepared by Lina Steponavičiūtė, Dalia Sirgedaitė, Laima Bačkienė, Rūta Mozūraitė ‘Spalvink Vilnių. Miesto įkūrimas’ (‘Colour Vilnius. The Founding of the City’) (2019, Lietuvos nacionalinis dailės muziejus)
If you are raising a budding artist, be sure to visit the Lithuanian Art Museum and buy ‘Colour Vilnius. Foundation of the City’. This colouring book is designed to introduce you to the capital in a new way – by colouring graphic and pictorial works by artists who were enchanted by Vilnius. If you can’t make it to the museum at the moment, that’s not a problem. You can colour the paintings online or download the PDF version and print it out yourself. It is important to note that the book also provides a lot of historical context and interesting facts about the founding of Vilnius. However, the text may be too complex for primary school children, so we recommend reading it as a family, so that parents can explain any tricky concepts.
Viltarė Jasinskytė, Andrej Ryčkov. ‘Žygimantas Augustas ir valdovo sostas’ (‘Sigismund Augustus and the Throne of the Sovereign’) (2018, Šviesa)
The activity book ‘Sigismund Augustus and the Throne of the Sovereign’ tells the story of the last Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland but with a slight twist. This book is like a detective story – through various tasks, you will travel through a Renaissance mansion and help the future ruler get his sword, cloak, and the ducal crown. And once budding code-breakers have deciphered the cryptogram, they will be able to read the secret book to find out how the ceremony of Sigismund Augustus’ elevation to Grand Duke took place.
Justinas Žilinskas, Povilas Vincentas Jankūnas ‘Atgal į Vilnių. Grafinis miesto metraštis’ (‘Back to Vilnius. A Graphic City Yearbook’) (2020, Aukso žuvys)
Want to know how castle towers grew and fell, who walked the old streets, what terrible things happened during the wars? Descend into the dungeons of Vilnius with the book’s heroes – Aistė and Simas – to the chambers of the dukes, hide from the invaders, fight for freedom, and uncover many other secrets of this city! Walk with professors through the courtyards of the old university, escape the plague, take part in a dangerous operation, and meet some celebrities.
Rūta Norkūnė, Asta Kulikauskaitė-Krivickienė ‘Vilnius. Vija ir meška miestinėja’ (‘Vilnius. Vija and the Bear Go to Town’) (2020, Alma littera)
The informative book ‘Vilnius. Vilija and the Bear Go To Town’ is a city guide for children aged 7-12 and the whole family. The book invites children and adults to explore Vilnius – to look up and down with curiosity, to explore the city’s secrets and legends, to discover the most important places in the Old Town and other districts, as well as the art and history of Vilnius. A girl Vija and her mischievous dog Bear are on a cheerful journey around the Lithuanian capital. Not only does the book introduce the rich history of Vilnius, but it also teaches us to understand Vilnius as a multicultural and multi-layered city. The book encourages us to explore not only the Old Town, but also the newer districts.
Agnė Ulytė, Monika Vaicenavičienė ‘Gatvių susitikimai. O kas, jeigu Vilniaus gatvės šnekėtųsi?’ (‘Street Meetings. What if the streets of Vilnius could talk?’) (2019, Aukso žuvys)
This book is a collection of comics that explore the colourful street map of Vilnius in a fun way. Maybe you’ll find out the history of your own street here? The authors, sisters Agnė and Monika, invite you to take a walk through the labyrinth of the city’s streets together!
Agnė Ulytė, Monika Vaicenavičienė „Gatvių susitikimai. O kas, jeigu Vilniaus gatvės šnekėtųsi?“
Arūnas Bėkšta ‘Atrandu ir spalvinu Vilnių’ (‘Discovering and Colouring in Vilnius’) (2016, Gelmės)
This colouring book ‘Discovering and Colouring Vilnius’ is made out of love for Vilnius. The buildings and streets depicted in the drawings reveal Vilnius as a multicultural city, home to many different peoples who have created the face of Vilnius in their own way. Not only were important objects chosen, but also those that would be fun to colour, which is why you won’t find the Cathedral here as it is white as a swan!
Each drawing is presented twice, so that you can choose between a couple of colouring options or techniques, such as pencils, watercolours, or pastels. On the reverse side of the page, there is brief information about the object in English and Lithuanian. The written information is accompanied by QR codes that allow users with smartphones to scan the codes and go to webpages where they can find more information about the object to be coloured online.
