Da čudne radosti

Da čudne radosti (Oh, Strange Joys) is a selection of poetry by Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, curated and edited by the poet and literary editor Husein Tahmiščić. The book showcases Zmaj’s rich body of work for children, introducing readers to his distinctive poetic world—one characterized by cheerfulness, humor, tenderness, and an understanding of the nature of childhood.

The poems feature children at play, family dynamics, school life, friendships, animals, and nature, as well as numerous small incidents and mishaps from everyday life. Zmaj’s children are not always perfectly obedient; they are curious, mischievous, stubborn, imaginative, and prone to making mistakes. Precisely for this reason, the poet portrays their actions with great warmth and gentle humor. He does not address them merely as a teacher seeking to impart a lesson; rather, he strives to understand their worldview and the joy they find in discovering the world around them.

A significant number of the poems convey educational and moral messages regarding kindness, honesty, hard work, learning, friendship, and how we treat others. However, these lessons are most often intertwined with humor, wordplay, and entertaining situations. Simple language, rhyme, a strong sense of rhythm, repetition, and musicality make the poems easy to memorize and ideal for reading aloud or recitation.

Tahmiščić’s selection offers an overview of the diverse themes and moods found in Zmaj’s poetry for children. Da čudne radosti thus demonstrates why Zmaj became a classic of children's literature: it portrays childhood as a world of its own, filled with imagination, emotion, mischief, learning, and wondrous little joys.