The picture book is intended for children, parents, educators and teachers, but also for everyone who meets children from Ukraine, and it carries a message of compassion, solidarity and support.
"The children who fled the war in Ukraine were forced to leave behind their whole lives, including family, friends and school, and start over in a new environment," said the acting head of the European Commission Representation in Croatia, Andrea Čović Vidović.
That is why it is important to recognise the challenges they face and provide them with support, and the school is one of the first places they come into contact with local children, she said.
"Through the picture book, we are trying to bring this complex topic closer to children and make tangible the challenges and emotions that their peers from Ukraine go through when integrating into the community in Croatia," said Čović Vidović.
Picture book illustrated by famous Ukrainian illustrator Anna Sarvira
"Girl with Eyes Wide Open" is about a refugee from Ukraine who, in her new school in Croatia, befriends a girl who notices that she needs support.
Through their story, we learn how to pay attention to people fleeing war and facilitate their integration into a new environment, among their peers and schoolmates.
The picture book was illustrated by the famous Ukrainian illustrator Anna Sarvira, whose illustrations of everyday life in Ukraine under the threat of war were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
In addition to Croatian and Ukrainian, it is available in 11 other languages - English, French, Dutch, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Polish, Romanian and Slovak.