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The Girl Who Speaks BearSophie Anderson
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
by Sophie Anderson
Yanka was found in a bear cave as a baby and has never fitted the village. One morning she wakes with the legs of a bear.
A story about children, animals and witches and wizards, epic and adventurous in tone. We would put it with children of 9–12, and at a reading age of about 10 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Mild peril
- A death or grief
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Our take on this book
Yanka, a girl who was found as a baby in a bear's cave and has always felt too big and too different for her village, sets off into the forest to discover where she truly comes from — a journey deep into Russian-flavoured folklore, talking animals and old magic. Sophie Anderson writes fairy-tale fantasy of great warmth and beauty, threading traditional tales through Yanka's quest for belonging, and the result is both a gripping adventure and a tender story about being different and finding where you fit. There is mild peril and the shivery magic of the deep forest, but the heart of it is kindness and self-acceptance. For a nine- to twelve-year-old who loves fairy tales, folklore and a heroine on a journey to find herself, it is a rich, immersive, comforting read — full of stories within the story — and a lovely companion to Anderson's The House with Chicken Legs, drawing on the same wintry, magical world.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
Asha and the Spirit BirdJasbinder Bilan
The Jungle BookRudyard Kipling
Children of the QuicksandsEfua Traoré
Running WildMichael Morpurgo
Spirit WalkerMichelle Paver
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.