Identity Distribution in the Croatian Children's Novel

Identity formation and development has been a fundamental goal of the all-around educational work from children's very early age. The importance of a curriculum founded on a value system in which identity as a value occupies one of the most significant places has been recognized in the Croatian national curriculum at all levels, especially in early and pre-school education and in the primary school. In the development of identity, literature plays a particular role, encouraging the reader to identify with the characters, and then to assume their attitudes, values, behaviour in short, to imitate the identities of literary heroes. The paper acknowledges the importance of the Croatian children's novel, which, by its rich identity distribution, becomes an encouragement and inspiration to young readers.