PRIRODA KAO BOŽJA TVOREVINA U KNjIŽEVNOSTI ZA DECU MILETE JAKŠIĆA

The paper analyzes Mileta Jakšić’s children’s literature, as well as the routes of his contemporary reception. Mileta Jakšić published three books for children, Children’s Collection of Poems and Prose (Dečja zbirka pesama i proze) published 1929, the play Sunlight (Sunčanica) published in 1929, and Legends and Tales for Children and Adults (Legende i priče za decu i odrasle) 1931. Our research intends to look into the author’s general views on children’s literature, in order to identify his creative principles and ideas. Special attention is given to different aspects of shaping nature and the importance of floral and faunal motifs as active participants in the plot, which leads to building an ambiance of peace and well-being. The research focus is on the book Legends and Tales for Children and Adults, since it represents a collection of various elements used in Jakšić’s shaping of the literary world, primarily through the establishment of nature as a meeting place of divine and human principles, which is embodied in the motifs of the lily and the rose.