- Chapter Books
- Ages 9–12
- Fantasy
The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away
Book 2 of 2 in The House with Chicken LegsView the full series
The return to Marinka's world: when the Gate to the Stars explodes, her living house tears itself apart and runs away, and Marinka races after it with her friend Benjamin and her jackdaw Jack across strange new realms. A big-hearted adventure about grief, fear and letting go of home.
- Best for9–12
- FormatChapter
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Lyrical
- Literary
Tone
- Bittersweet
- Adventurous
- Whimsical
- Warm
- Thought provoking
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Marinka has spent her whole life in the house with chicken legs, the Yaga house where the dead come to have their lives celebrated before they are guided on to the stars. She can feel how the house is feeling, and it listens to her in return. But something is wrong: the Gate to the Stars breaks apart, and before anyone can stop it the house pulls itself up and bolts, running away across far-distant lands. With her best friend Benjamin and her jackdaw Jack, Marinka chases after it through new realms and magical places, facing her deepest fears to save her friends and her home, even as she begins to fear the house may not want to stop. Returning to the world of her bestselling debut, Sophie Anderson weaves another spellbinding fairy tale about loss, loyalty and the courage it takes to accept change. Still grieving the grandmother she lost, Marinka must learn what home really means when the one she loves is slipping away.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Best for confident 9-12 readers, ideally ones who have already read the first book, since it continues Marinka's story after her grandmother's death. It reads aloud beautifully from about 8 and has adult crossover appeal, but its themes of grief and losing home mean sensitive younger children may find it affecting.
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- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 8–11
- Independent · 9–12
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
None
Reluctant-reader friendly
Tougher fit
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Gift-buying
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: grief, death of character.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
2 / 5 · Use judgement
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Slavic folklore
- Lyrical fantasy
- Gentle handling of death
- Fans of book one
Avoid if
- Wants gentle bedtime
- Sensitive to death and grief
- Hasnt read book one
Particularly good for children who are…
- Bereavement
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The house readers loved in book one comes alive again, tearing itself apart and running away so Marinka has to chase it across strange new worlds with her friend Benjamin and jackdaw Jack. It's a real quest, full of wonder, with a girl who has to be braver than she feels.
- Secret world
- Going on a quest
- Adventure and freedom
- Surviving danger
Why parents love it
Anderson brings back the Baba Yaga world with the same gorgeous writing, this time turning it toward grief and letting go of home. It gives children a safe, wonder-filled space to feel big losses, and reads aloud like a modern fairy tale.
- Great writing
- Conversation starter
- Beautiful illustrations
In the series
The House with Chicken Legs.
2 books · open the series →
About the author
Sophie Anderson.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
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