Ukrainian books for A2
At A2 you read in the past tense and know the most common words. The Ukrainian classics offer no complete texts this simple, so the shelf holds ten MovaReader adaptations in simple prose: Shevchenko’s poems Kateryna and The Servant Girl, Marko Vovchok’s Marusia, Franko’s fox tale Lys Mykyta, and six retellings of complete texts that are also in the catalog: Natalka Poltavka, Mykola Dzheria and Kotsiubynsky’s Dorohoiu tsinoiu (B2), and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Zakhar Berkut and Stefanyk’s The Stone Cross and Other Stories (C1). They are not the original texts.
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
- Natalka Poltavka Наталка Полтавка Ivan Kotliarevsky A Poltava love story retold for A2 4 470 words 1 hour
- Marusia Маруся Marko Vovchok A Cossack girl’s legend retold for A2 4 487 words 1 hour
- Dorohoiu tsinoiu Дорогою ціною Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky Runaway serfs head for the Danube, for A2 4 765 words 1 hour
- Zakhar Berkut Захар Беркут Ivan Franko Franko’s Carpathian epic retold for A2 4 782 words 1 hour
The level's books side by side
The catalog measures the average sentence length and the share of long words, 9 letters or more. All ten books average 9-10 words per sentence, about twice as many as the A1 tales, and a long word comes up from once in 30 words (Lys Mykyta) to once in 19 (Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, where many are names and Hutsul words explained in the text). All are told in the past tense: that is the main line between A2 and A1, where everything is in the present. In each book the difficulty is even from the first chapter to the last.
- The Servant Girl Taras Shevchenko Words per sentence 9Length 3 385 words
- Kateryna Taras Shevchenko Words per sentence 10Length 3 432 words
- Lys Mykyta Ivan Franko Words per sentence 10Length 4 207 words
- The Stone Cross and Other Stories Vasyl Stefanyk Words per sentence 9Length 4 241 words
- Mykola Dzheria Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky Words per sentence 9Length 4 343 words
- Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky Words per sentence 9Length 4 450 words
- Natalka Poltavka Ivan Kotliarevsky Words per sentence 9Length 4 470 words
- Marusia Marko Vovchok Words per sentence 10Length 4 487 words
- Dorohoiu tsinoiu Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky Words per sentence 10Length 4 765 words
- Zakhar Berkut Ivan Franko Words per sentence 10Length 4 782 words
How these books read in MovaReader
Tap an unfamiliar word and its translation appears right there, with no dictionary in another tab. The reader remembers your place and the words you opened. Signing up is free.
Before you read
Are these the original texts?
No. All ten are MovaReader adaptations in simple prose: Shevchenko’s poems Kateryna and The Servant Girl, Marko Vovchok’s Marusia, Franko’s verse tale Lys Mykyta, and six retellings of complete texts that are also in the catalog: Natalka Poltavka, Mykola Dzheria and Dorohoiu tsinoiu at B2, and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Zakhar Berkut and Stefanyk’s stories at C1.
How is A2 different from A1 in this catalog?
In tense and sentence length. The A1 tales and fables are told in the present tense, with 5-6 words per sentence; the A2 books are told in the past tense, with 9-10.
How long does a book take?
About an hour each: from about 3,400 words (Kateryna and The Servant Girl) to about 4,800 (Zakhar Berkut), in 6-12 chapters.
What should I read after A2?
The B1 shelf: ten famous works retold in simple modern Ukrainian, from Kotliarevsky’s comic Eneida and The Witch of Konotop to The Black Council, Kobylianska’s The Princess and Franko’s Crossed Paths.