The House with Chicken Legs

by Sophie Anderson (Author)

The House with Chicken Legs
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

All 12-year-old Marinka wants is a friend. A real friend. Not like her house with chicken legs. Sure, the house can play games like tag and hide-and-seek, but Marinka longs for a human companion. Someone she can talk to and share secrets with. But that's tough when your grandmother is a Yaga, a guardian who guides the dead into the afterlife. It's even harder when you live in a house that wanders all over the world . . . carrying you with it. Even worse, Marinka is being trained to be a Yaga.

That means no school, no parties -- and no playmates that stick around for more than a day. So when Marinka stumbles across the chance to make a real friend, she breaks all the rules . . . with devastating consequences. Her beloved grandmother mysteriously disappears, and it's up to Marinka to find her -- even if it means making a dangerous journey to the afterlife.

With a mix of whimsy, humor, and adventure, this debut novel will wrap itself around your heart and never let go.

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Kirkus

Starred Review

Heartbreaking, uplifting, and absolutely beautiful.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 4-6--The wise witch of Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, is the conduit for this coming-of-age adventure where both the living and the dead teach timely lessons about love and loss. Twelve-year-old narrator Marinka has reluctantly accepted her destiny: to learn the duties of a guardian (aka "yaga") who guides the dead through the Gate to a peaceful afterlife. Although she loves learning from her grandmother, Baba, and living in the strange house with chicken legs, she is tired of constantly picking up and moving, never making a friend among the living. When she stubbornly enacts her own plan for her future, Marinka is faced with choices that have permanent consequences. Anderson has written a plucky, compassionate heroiner in Marinka. She is completely relatable as she struggles with the desire for independence while knowing she has much to learn from her elders, peers, pets, and, surprisingly, her dwelling. The story brings Neil Gaiman's Coraline and the work of Tim Burton to mind: the first scene opens with Marinka building a fence of human femur bones with delicately balanced skulls atop. VERDICT A thoughtfully crafted, macabre masterpiece for middle grade readers, this debut novel also has the read-aloud appeal of a beloved folk or fairy tale.--Jane Miller, Nashville Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Praise for The House with Chicken Legs

"This stellar selection will be an inspiring fit for fantasy lovers, but will also be just right for all those hoping to discover their own destiny!" — School Library Connection

"Readers...will be charmed by and envious of a house that by turns acts as magical playmate, responsive transportation, and forgiving friend." — BCCB
Sophie Anderson
Sophie Anderson lives in England's Lake District with her husband, four children, and a Border collie. She enjoys wandering, daydreaming, and storytelling. Her bestselling novels have won the Independent Bookshop Book of the Year Award, and been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal twice. Visit her online at sophieandersonauthor.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781338209976
Lexile Measure
770
Guided Reading Level
N
Publisher
Scholastic Press
Publication date
February 04, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV058000 - Juvenile Fiction | Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural
Library of Congress categories
Grandmothers
Dwellings
Grandparent and child
Fantasy
Fantasy fiction
Spiritualism
Baba Yaga

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