The paper focuses attention on the riddle as a special poetic species, which in the twentieth century captured the attention of researchers (Jolles, Crnković, Kekez, Valand). First it is talked about its characteristics, and then the tradition of appearance throughout the history of Croatian children’s literature, from a comparative point of view in relation to the creativity of several Croatian poets (Vitez, Halovanić, Luketa, Videk, etc.). The central part of the work is dedicated to the puzzles of Aljoša Vuković, a Croatian poet who draws on the tradition and work of past writers for children, but significantly expanding the reach of the species in a motif, linguistic and substantive view. Several examples of the expressive habitus of Vukovic’s riddles are argued. The authors position him at the center of contemporary poetic production, and their own analyses are supported by quotes from the works of eminent literary critics about Vukovic’s work.
