Igrajmo se radosti

"The collection of verses LET'S PLAY WITH JOY, selected poems, by contemporary Croatian writer Ljubica Kolarić-Dumić confirms her secure place in Croatian poetry, especially in poetry intended for lower grades of primary school. She is one of the more significant names, in the long constellation of honorable predecessors, that Srijem has given to Croatia. Of course, every work of art, as such, with its aesthetic achievements in the phenomenon of universality, transcends barriers, even ethnic ones, and rises to the level of a group of values, becoming part of the global spiritual heritage. Writing for children is a difficult and responsible literary job. In addition to poetic inspiration, it is inevitable to have a good knowledge of the psychology of preschool children and those from lower grades of primary school, to whom one most often addresses, as well as methodology and pedagogy for this age group, as scientific disciplines without which communication with small and young readers is not possible. Children are not sung to in an abstract, modernist, larpurlartistic or any other poetic expression with which the poet addresses adults readers. Through poetry, children are conveyed beauty, goodness and lessons, and poetry instills in them basic human virtues as life values. First of all, it is necessary to bring the phenomenon of poetics, beauty as its expression, its sublimity and transcendental nature closer to them in an acceptable and natural way. Not only bring them closer, but make them close, acceptable and understandable. Poems from school desks are remembered for a lifetime, along with the messages they carried. Ljubica Kolarić-Dumić follows the Croatian literary tradition in terms of versification and aesthetic canons with her books for children, but this gives her personal sensibility, excellent knowledge of the needs and possibilities of reception of her young readers, but above all, her verses are proof of love for children and an indicator of excellent knowledge of their psychology. The teaching profession to which she has dedicated her entire working life has undoubtedly helped her in the breadth and depth of these insights. The third revised and supplemented edition of Selected Poems for Children and Youth shows Mrs. Kolarić-Dumić in a wider range from a writer for children. In addition to verses of this type, in the collection of her selected poems, which she gave the charming and characteristic title "Let's Play for Joy", she also included poems for young people." (From the afterword by Đuro Vidmarović)