Ukrainian books
From B2 up, here are complete texts in Ukrainian, not simplified versions: Kotsiubynsky, Franko, Stefanyk, Cheremshyna, Vynnychenko, Vasylchenko, Nechuy-Levytsky, Hrinchenko, Kotliarevsky, Dniprova Chaika and Khvylovy as printed in editions of 1919-1960, with the spelling of those editions. A1, A2 and B1 hold MovaReader adaptations of folk tales, fables and the great works of Ukrainian literature, from Shevchenko’s Kateryna and Lesya Ukrainka’s The Forest Song to Kulish’s The Black Council and Franko’s Crossed Paths, retold in simple modern Ukrainian, because the classics offer no complete texts at that level. Many adaptations lead to the complete text of the same work higher up the catalog. Each book has a CEFR level: it shows how readable the text really is with translation of unknown words.
The level rests on two measures: the average sentence length and the share of long words (9 letters or more), plus whether the difficulty is even across the book. Ukrainian prose of this period is full of dialogue, so short sentences never make a complete original easier than B2; dialect and old forms count too, which is why Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Cheremshyna’s Verkhovyna and Stefanyk’s stories, with dialect on every page, are C1. Ukrainian books are compared only with each other. It assesses the text, not a language exam.
A1
7 books
- The Grasshopper and Other Fables Коник-стрибунець та інші байки Leonid Hlibov Ten Hlibov fables retold for A1 3 338 words 1 hour
- The Mitten and Other Tales Рукавичка та інші казки Ukrainian folk tales Five folk tales retold for A1 3 397 words 1 hour
- The Little Lame Duck and Other Tales Кривенька качечка та інші казки Ukrainian folk tales Four folk tales retold for A1 3 409 words 1 hour
- The Painted Fox and Other Tales Фарбований Лис та інші казки Ivan Franko Six of Franko’s animal tales for A1 3 711 words 1 hour
- Trouble Teaches and Other Tales Біда навчить та інші казки Lesya Ukrainka Three tales for children, retold for A1 3 929 words 1 hour
- The Magic Goat and Other Tales Чарівна Коза та інші казки Stepan Vasylchenko Ossetian tales and childhood scenes, for A1 3 966 words 1 hour
A2
10 books
- The Servant Girl Наймичка Taras Shevchenko A mother’s secret, told in simple prose 3 385 words 1 hour
- Kateryna Катерина Taras Shevchenko Shevchenko’s poem retold in prose for A2 3 432 words 1 hour
- Lys Mykyta Лис Микита Ivan Franko Franko’s fox epic retold for A2 4 207 words 1 hour
- The Stone Cross and Other Stories Камінний хрест та інші новели Vasyl Stefanyk Five Stefanyk stories in an A2 adaptation 4 241 words 1 hour
- Mykola Dzheria Микола Джеря Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky A runaway serf’s life, retold for A2 4 343 words 1 hour
- Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors Тіні забутих предків Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky Kotsiubynsky’s Hutsul tale retold for A2 4 450 words 1 hour
B1
10 books
- Eneida Енеїда Ivan Kotliarevsky Virgil’s Aeneas as a Cossack, for B1 4 530 words 1 hour
- The Witch of Konotop Конотопська відьма Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko A witch hunt in a Cossack town, for B1 4 895 words 1 hour
- The Forest Song Лісова пісня Lesya Ukrainka A Ukrainian forest drama retold for B1 4 964 words 1 hour
- Kaidash’s Family Кайдашева сім’я Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky A Ukrainian village comedy retold for B1 4 974 words 1 hour
- The Noblewoman Бояриня Lesya Ukrainka A Cossack bride in 17th-century Moscow 5 123 words 1 hour
- The Institute Girl Інститутка Marko Vovchok A serf girl’s story retold for B1 5 493 words 1-2 hours
B2
19 books
- Intermezzo Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky An impressionist summer in the fields, B2 3 992 words 1 hour
- The Exam and Other Stories Екзамен та інші оповідання Borys Hrinchenko 4 short stories by Hrinchenko for B2 8 392 words 1-2 hours
- Natalka Poltavka Наталка-Полтавка Ivan Kotliarevsky Songs and matchmaking by the Vorskla (B2) 9 428 words 2-3 hours
- Peasant Arithmetic and Other Stories Мужицька арихметика та інші оповідання Stepan Vasylchenko 10 village stories by Vasylchenko for B2 17 139 words 3-5 hours
- Dorohoiu tsinoiu Дорогою ціною Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky Runaway serfs head for the Danube (B2) 18 014 words 3-5 hours
- The Tin Ring Олив'яний перстень Stepan Vasylchenko Kyiv schoolboys walk to a harvest village 18 590 words 3-5 hours
C1
14 books
- I (Romanticism) Я (Романтика) Mykola Khvylovy A 1920s expressionist novella for C1 4 716 words 1 hour
- Verkhovyna and Other Stories Верховина і інші оповідання Marko Cheremshyna Hutsul villages under Polish rule 12 029 words 2-3 hours
- Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors Тіні забутих предків Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky A Hutsul love story in the Carpathians 16 200 words 3-5 hours
- A Sentimental Story Сантиментальна історія Mykola Khvylovy A 1920s city novella for C1 16 800 words 3-5 hours
- The Thief and Other Stories Злодій та інші новели Vasyl Stefanyk Galician village life in 19 more stories 19 712 words 3-5 hours
- The Stone Cross and Other Stories Камінний хрест та інші новели Vasyl Stefanyk Peasant lives in 21 Galician stories 27 187 words 5-8 hours
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