Free Online Services with Children’s Fairy Tales in Ukrainian: Read, Listen, Watch
Children’s fairy tales, audiobooks and educational materials in Ukrainian help children keep a connection with their native language — and simply take their minds off things. We have gathered a selection of online resources where you can read, listen to and watch content in Ukrainian. Much of it is free or needs no registration.
This list was originally put together by a team of Slovak volunteers who work with educational and developmental content for children. It drew on UNICEF data, materials from the Ukrainian publisher Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva (The Old Lion Publishing House) and recommendations from library associations. We have updated the selection and removed resources that no longer work.
E-books in Ukrainian
Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva
This Ukrainian publisher has opened access to several children’s e-books — a good option for younger children. The section with free books is on the website starylev.com.ua.
Bibliokid
The portal bibliokid.if.ua collects stories for download. It is useful not only for parents, but also for teachers and specialists in the helping professions.
KuboMedia
This Slovak digital content portal offers several Ukrainian fairy tales with illustrations. Access requires free registration at app.kuboknihy.sk — handy if you already live in Slovakia.
Audio fairy tales and audiobooks
Telegram channels with audio stories
On the channel «Pavlush i Yalush» you can download audio stories and listen to them offline — useful on the road or where there is no internet. The channel «Audiokazky» has a similar format: its Ukrainian-language stories can also be downloaded.
4read
The portal 4read.org — a large library of children’s audiobooks in Ukrainian.
Larger services
Audiobooks and e-books can also be found in the apps of the big Ukrainian services — Yakaboo, for example — while cartoons and films in Ukrainian are available on Megogo. In the first months of the war these platforms opened up part of their catalogue for free; the terms have since changed, so check the current offers directly in the app or on the service’s website.
Video and cartoons
Authors reading their own books
On YouTube you can find dozens of videos in which Ukrainian authors read extracts from their own books to children — for example, a recording of Maryana Savka reading «The Tale of the Old Lion». Search by the title of the book or the author’s name.
Animated fairy tales
Free animated fairy tales are collected on the portal «Kinoguru».
Games and printable materials
The Czech shop Vendula offers a free download of a Czech-Ukrainian and a Slovak-Ukrainian memory game, as well as colouring pages. The materials are available at obchudekvendula.cz — the bilingual format also helps a child pick up new words along the way.
Educational content
Ukrainian children living abroad can carry on studying online: Ukrainian teachers run lessons and educational online sessions. Projects of this kind have changed over recent years — some have closed, others have moved to the «Vseukrainska shkola onlain» (All-Ukrainian School Online) platform run by Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science. For an up-to-date list of active programmes, check the Ministry’s website.
For more on the Slovak education system and how to enrol a child in school, see the articles Primary Schools in Slovakia and Schools and Universities in Slovakia.
What else to do with a child
Online content is not the only option. If you want to get out of the house, have a look at our round-ups Where to Take a Child in Bratislava and Museums in Bratislava.
Frequently asked questions
Are all the resources on the list free?
Most of them are, but the terms change. Some platforms opened free access only temporarily, in the first months of the war, and later returned to a paid model. Check the conditions on the site itself.
Can you listen to audio fairy tales without internet?
Yes. The Telegram channels «Pavlush i Yalush» and «Audiokazky» let you download the files and listen offline — handy when travelling.
Are there materials for learning Slovak?
The bilingual games and colouring pages from the Vendula shop include Slovak-Ukrainian versions. For adults, free Slovak courses are run by the Migration Information Centre — details in the article Bratislava for Ukrainians.
Where can I find books for older schoolchildren?
Besides the resources listed above, it is worth looking at the catalogues of Ukrainian publishers and at e-libraries — many of them have sections organised by age. It is also worth joining a local library: some Slovak towns hold collections of books in Ukrainian.
Important. The information in this article has been gathered from publicly available online sources and was accurate at the time of publication. Conditions and rules change. Before making any decisions, check the current information and consult a relevant specialist.