Croatia - Children's Books

Croatia is a lovely place to visit with the family and perfect for a family road trip. Just be careful about parking: it's not free and a parking ticket for more than 100€ will be placed on the car within seconds if parking has not been paid for!

For a children's film set in Croatia, check out the animated film, "The Little Shoemaker" or the live-action version based on the book, The Brave Adventures of Lapitch by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić.

Do you know of another children's travel book about Croatia? Please feel free to note it in a comment below!

Children's Books about Croatia

When Hen Was on Her Way to Market: A Folktale-Inspired Story of Manners and Nursery Rhyme: Based on a cumulative nursery rhyme often heard in her Croatian childhood, Irena Stanic Rasin's When Hen Was On Her Way to Market is a folktale told with lively humor and attention to Croatian culture. The bossy hen is on her way to market with a basket of eggs when she muddies her foot. In a succession of demands on the local flora, fauna and villagers, Hen learns the usefulness of courtesy and respect when none of her requests are heeded.  Ivana Rasin illustrated this tale with authentic Croatian images in vivid color. Ms. Stanic Rasin chose each word to exactly fit the sense of the story, offering young readers rich vocabulary within a pattern that invites children to anticipate and join the repeating phrases: "No way!" in response to Hen's imperious orders. In a particularly hilarious conclusion, Hen's memory falters when her face is muddied after tripping on a pumpkin pile at the market. "How did it go again?" she asks, trying to recall the lesson just learned. Her young readers will know.

When Hen Was on Her Way to Market: An Illustrated Folktale: This engaging book for preschoolers is an English translation of a "much ado about nothing" cumulative-repetitive nursery rhyme about how a little evil can go a long way, but a little good goes even further.  Linked in a chain of archetypal enmities are objects, people, and animals, all turning a deaf ear to Hen's commanding attitude and a blind eye to her insignificant dirty little foot.  It isn't until the last character's notorious loyalty triggers a domino-effect chain reaction that Hen finally gets the satisfaction she seeks.  Recommended to read with When Hen Was on Her Way to Market: A Folktale-Inspired Story of Manners. [Mama Traveler Note: These two books about the hen with a very similar cover do seem to be in fact different books.]

The Brave Adventures of Lapitch: A shoemaker's apprentice runs away from his unreasonable master and embarks on a week's adventures with a dog and an orphan girl in this 1913 novel by Croatian children's author Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić.

Lily the Ladybug Travels the World - Croatia: Lily the Ladybug and her magical knapsack, Spot, are flying high over the beautiful country of Croatia. There, she meets a little fish named Pelo and sets off on an adventure to help him find his school. What school you ask?! Let's find out! The book also includes activities for learning Croatian.

Croatian Tales of Long Ago: Croatian Tales of Long Ago is a collection of six children’s stories by the acclaimed children's author Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić (sometimes spelled as "Ivana Berlić-Mažuranić".) The collection is considered her masterpiece of Croatian literature and it features a series of newly written fairy tales heavily inspired by motifs taken from ancient Slavic mythology of pre-Christian Croatia. These children’s stories are seen as one of the most typical examples of her writing style which has been compared by literary critics to Hans Christian Andersen and J. R. R. Tolkien due to the way it combines original fantasy plots with folk mythology. The collection was translated into English by F.S. Copeland and also features 11 full page colour illustrations and almost as many pen and ink drawings by the Croatian illustrator Vladimir Kirin. The stories in this volume are: How Quest Sought The Truth, Fisherman Plunk And His Wife, Reygoch, Bridesman Sun And Bride Bridekins, Stribor’s Forest, Little Brother Primrose And Sister Lavender.

My First Book - Croatia: All About Croatia For Kids: The culture, the beauty, the landmarks, the food - it is simply fascinating. In this book, we cover all of those magical elements about CROATIA in a digestible and engaging way!  Combining fun and education, we use real-life images to help your child learn about the country.

Nestor in Croatia, Gem of the Balkans: Nestor visits Croatia.

Unpacked: Croatia: Explore the people, music, art, sport, food, landscapes and wildlife using this awesome children's travel guide to one of the world's holiday hotspots.

It's Castle Time! A Kid's Guide To Dubrovnik, Croatia: Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. But this is not what is fascinating about this place. Kids and adults alike will marvel at what they see when they approach Dubrovnik, because what you see and what you find (kid's are very keen on exploring and finding things) is a walled city, a real bridge that goes over a moat and a drawbridge! And there is much, much more! 

Croatia Coloring Book For Kids: With Interesting Facts: This coloring book is designed for children who want to learn about the wonderful country that is Croatia! This unique coloring book includes over 30 high-quality illustrations designed to entertain and engage, providing hours of coloring fun. Each page contains an interesting fact about Croatia which will help your child learn about the country, culture, food, language and people.  Kids can use pens, pencils, markers, paint, and crayons. These coloring pages are packed with lots of interesting illustrations related to Croatia.

Bonus! Game of Thrones Children's Picture Book

A large amount of recent tourism to Croatia, specifically Dubrovnik, is due to the Game of Thrones tv show, books, and fandom. While the tv show and books are most certainly not for children, the Game of Thrones author, George R.R. Martin, has written and published a children's book that takes place in Westeros in the Game of Thrones universe and seems to be a bedtime story that Jon Snow recalls his Old Nan telling to all of the Stark children. Check it out below!

The Ice Dragon: From ancient times the ice dragon was a creature of legend and fear, for no man had ever tamed one. When it flew overhead, it left in its wake desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid. For Adara was a winter child, born during the worst freeze that anyone, even the Old Ones, could remember. Adara could not remember the first time she had seen the ice dragon. It seemed that it had always been in her life, glimpsed from afar as she played in the frigid snow long after the other children had fled the cold. In her fourth year she touched it, and in her fifth year she rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time. Then, in her seventh year, on a calm summer day, fiery dragons from the North swooped down upon the peaceful farm that was Adara’s home. And only a winter child―and the ice dragon who loved her―could save her world from utter destruction.