Multicultural Literature and the Use of Literature in Multicultural Education in Finland

Abstract

This paper traces the presentation of these traditional minority groups in Finland and the emergence of literature incorporating the more recently arrived groups of immigrants in the history of Finnish language children’s literature. We contextualize the development of multicultural themes in children’s literature within the history of Finnish nation-building and the country’s struggles for independence. We conclude with a brief consideration of how these less than ideal books might, nevertheless, serve to promote pluralism.