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The House with Chicken LegsSophie Anderson
The House with Chicken Legs
by Sophie Anderson
Marinka's grandmother guides the dead through the gate, and the house walks them somewhere new each night. Marinka wants a living friend instead.
A story about children, families and witches and wizards, thoughtful and epic 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
- 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
Marinka lives in a house that stands on giant chicken legs and wanders where it likes, because her grandmother is a Baba Yaga — a guardian who guides the dead through the gate to the stars — and Marinka, lonely and longing for a normal life and living friends, begins to rebel against the destiny laid out for her. Sophie Anderson's debut is a beautiful, original fantasy drawn from Slavic folklore, warm and sad and magical, about death handled with extraordinary gentleness and about a girl learning to choose her own path. The subject of death is central but treated tenderly and without fear, as a natural passage rather than a horror. For a nine- to twelve-year-old it is a rich, moving, gorgeously imagined read — the walking house is unforgettable — and a rare children's book that helps a reader think about mortality with warmth rather than dread. A modern favourite, and a lovely introduction to folklore-based fantasy.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
The Girl Who Drank the MoonKelly Barnhill
A Pinch of MagicMichelle Harrison
A Wizard of EarthseaUrsula K. Le Guin
Children of the QuicksandsEfua Traoré
The Girl Who Speaks BearSophie Anderson
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.