Recommended resources
Good places to keep learning alongside Slovko, from first picture books to Slovak cinema.
Books by level
In Slovak. Links go to Martinus, a large Slovak bookshop; libraries are another good option.
A1 Beginner
- Čačky-hračky ↗Krista Bendová, 1949Nursery rhymes written for children who can't read yet: very short and repetitive.
- Zajko Bojko ↗Ľudmila Podjavorinská, 1930A fairy tale in verse: rhymes and repeated lines make it easy to follow aloud.
- Smelý zajko ↗Jozef Cíger Hronský, 1930A very short animal story, mostly told by the pictures.
- Danka a Janka ↗Mária Ďuríčková, 1961Stories about twin girls in clear, everyday prose; each one reads in a sitting.
A2 Elementary
- Maťko a Kubko ↗Marianna Grznárová, 1977Tiny episodes about two shepherd boys, from the cartoon Pásli ovce valasi. Expect old-fashioned shepherd words.
- Osmijankove rozprávky ↗Krista Bendová, 1967–1969Very short fairy tales, full of playful wordplay.
- Opice z našej police ↗Krista Bendová, 1967A funny novel about three brothers in a Bratislava family: everyday home vocabulary.
- Rozprávky Pavla Dobšinského ↗Retold by Elena SlobodováSlovakia's classic folk tales in modern language. The originals are archaic, so start with a retelling.
- Mimi a Líza ↗Katarína Kerekesová, Katarína Moláková, Alexandra Salmela, 2013A modern picture book set in the city, to go with the cartoon.
B1 Intermediate
- Jediná ↗Klára Jarunková, 1963A young-adult novel told by a 14-year-old girl, in teenage everyday language.
- Brat mlčanlivého Vlka ↗Klára Jarunková, 1967An adventure novel at a mountain hut, with a straightforward plot.
- Analfabeta Negramotná ↗Ján Uličiansky, 2011An easy plot with lots of wordplay: good for stretching your vocabulary.
- Websterovci ↗Katarína Kerekesová, Vanda Rozenbergová, 2017The illustrated book of the spider-family cartoon, for ages 8 and up.
B2 Upper-intermediate
- Neprebudený, Keď báčik z Chochoľova umrie ↗Martin Kukučín, 1886 and 1890Short stories by the most approachable of the classics, though the vocabulary is 19th-century.
- Stalo sa prvého septembra (alebo inokedy) ↗Pavol Rankov, 2008A modern novel in plain prose; winner of the EU Prize for Literature.
- Trhlina ↗Jozef Karika, 2016A page-turning mystery thriller in modern colloquial Slovak.
- Samko Tále: Kniha o cintoríne ↗Daniela Kapitáňová, 2000A short satirical novel; the narrator's muddled voice is part of the joke.
Films and cartoons by level
Original Slovak productions. Streaming services are mostly available only in Slovakia; the Slovak Film Institute's DVDs have English subtitles.
A1 Beginner
- Spievankovo ↗Mária Podhradská and Richard Čanaky, since 2002Children's songs with lots of repetition and clear pronunciation.
- Slimák Maťo a škriatok Klinček ↗Jaroslav Cita, 1976–1987Gentle seven-minute bedtime cartoons about nature.
- Fidlibum ↗Slovak Television (STV / RTVS)A preschool show where a gnome answers 'why?' questions, slowly and simply.
A2 Elementary
- Pásli ovce valasi ↗Ladislav Čapek, 1972The cartoon of Maťko a Kubko: one slow narrator, with some folk vocabulary.
- Mimi a Líza ↗Katarína Kerekesová, 2013Modern everyday Slovak in ten-minute episodes. Check the audio: Czech-dubbed versions exist.
- Drobci ↗Vanda Raýmanová and Michal Struss, 2016Two little brothers in everyday situations, in paper-cut animation.
- Websterovci ↗Katarína Kerekesová, 2017A family of spiders in short episodes full of family dialogue. The film is on HBO Max in Slovakia, or to buy on Apple TV.
B1 Intermediate
- Perinbaba ↗Juraj Jakubisko, 1985A fairy-tale film with a familiar plot, shown on Slovak TV every Christmas.
- Soľ nad zlato ↗Martin Hollý, 1982A fairy tale about why salt is worth more than gold, with clear, measured speech.
- Popolvár najväčší na svete ↗Martin Ťapák, 1982A Dobšinský tale on film, with plain dialogue; part of the institute's fairy-tale DVD set.
- Spadla z oblakov ↗Radim Cvrček, 1978–1980A children's sci-fi series set in a village, with plenty of kids' dialogue.
B2 Upper-intermediate
- Obchod na korze ↗Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, 1965An Oscar-winning wartime drama; part of the dialogue is in Yiddish.
- Slnko v sieti ↗Štefan Uher, 1962A landmark of the Slovak New Wave, with poetic, elliptical dialogue.
- Učiteľka ↗Jan Hřebejk, 2016A drama built around a parents' meeting: dense, realistic adult conversation.
- Čiara ↗Peter Bebjak, 2017A smuggling thriller on the Slovak–Ukrainian border, in Slovak and Ukrainian.