Author & Illustrators
Marinka, Benjamin and the House with Chicken Legs are back in a fabulous sequel to the original The House with Chicken Legs.
Marinka and her House have finally stopped wandering and settled down to live near her best friend, Benjamin. But all is not well with the House; it seems tired and distant. In an effort to help the house regain some of its sparkle, Marinka and Yaga Tatyana decide to host a guiding but it goes disastrously wrong, plummeting Marinka and Benjamin into a breathtaking adventure which makes Marinka question her past, her future and everything she thought she knew. Testing her friendships to the limit, can Marinka save her House? Can she get Benjamin safely back to his family? And will she finally find out who she really is?
I usually find that sequels are rarely as good as the original, but this is most definitely an exception. Fast-paced and as well-written as we have come to expect from Sophie Anderson, this is a welcome addition to any bookshelf and an exciting return of a much-loved story.
A beautiful, wintery story sprinkled with folklore and magic, from much-loved author Sophie Anderson.
Since ‘the incident’ at Claw’s Edge, Tasha has found it hard to trust or let anyone in. She has vowed to stay near home where it is safe and despite a longing to make new friends and much encouragement from her family, her anxiety prevents her from reaching out. That is until she meets Alyana. Created in the first snowfall by Tasha and her Grandpa and modelled on the Snow Girl from his bedtime stories, a wish brings her to life and Alyana and Tasha adventure together through the winter nights, forming a close bond. Not wanting to lose her magical friend, Tasha longs to hold onto the winter, but when the endless snowfall and the freezing temperatures make Grandpa ill, Tasha must find a way for the Spring to come. But to do that, she will need the help of some friends. Can her bond with Alyana help her to be brave?
There is so much love and warmth in this story, despite the wintery setting. The descriptions are so evocative, the elements of folklore and fairytale are beautifully woven into the storytelling as they always are with Sophie Anderson’s writing and the relationships between the characters are so kind and gentle too. The way all the characters support Tasha through her anxiety is sensitively written. They let her take the lead, accept her choices and give her their time, patience and acceptance.
This would make a brilliant class read aloud for the winter months or would make a fantastic text to use as part of a KS2 traditional tales unit, being steeped in Slavic folklore, magic and mythology. Extracts could also be used as writing models, particularly for descriptions of winter landscapes that awaken all the senses.
The front cover says it all, and it’s just as beautiful within!
This much-anticipated third novel by Sophie Anderson is a triumph, standing up to its predecessors The House with Chicken Legs and The Girl Who Speaks Bear in the richness of its story weaving and scope of imagination.
Castle Mila is Olia’s family home – a majestic castle passed down in her family history from generation to generation. The castle is as mysterious as it is impressive – with secret rooms, impenetrable domes and hidden passageways that long to be explored – and is the perfect abode for a curious and adventurous protagonist like Olia, who wishes to leave no stone unturned when it comes to seeking out magic and who can’t wait to share it all with her baby sister Rosa once she is old enough. The castle has stood for 500 years, so when a storm threatens, Olia is sure that the castle should be able to withstand it even if it may mean cancelling the special feast planned in the great hall. But wise old Babusya – who is always well-tuned in to the world of magic and spirits – isn’t so sure, feeling that there is something different about the nature of this impending storm.
After the storm passes, part of the top of the castle has partially collapsed down into the great hall, revealing a hidden staircase that leads to one of the castle’s domes. The Aurora Dome has always fascinated Olia, believing it be a place of hidden magic. Allured by its potential and confused by Babusya’s mysterious instructions about unlocking the castle’s magic, Olia is soon swept away on an adventure through a magical door in the dome that leads to a whole new land of forbidden magic.
What ensues is a thrilling quest introducing a host of magical characters, as Olia finds true courage within herself and a new conviction in her own agency to pursue what she believes is important. The cast of characters is delightful, and pleasingly there is even an appearance from a particular house that is fondly familiar to fans of Sophie’s previous books. An interesting and topical theme emerges gently through the story, as Olia explores the concept of how to deal with the shameful actions of ancestors from generations before – actions that have caused long-lasting consequences for the individual liberties of a whole group of characters. Should we cut off things of the past and remove all memories of them, wonders Olia, or embrace our history while looking for ways to put things right?
Sophie Anderson masterfully introduces Russian folklore to new readership while exploring themes with true relevance to the modern middle-grade readers – identity, social justice, conviction of belief, what it means to find a home and the role individuals play in make the world a better place for others.
With beautiful illustrations by Saara Sodurlund bringing its magic to life, this is an enchanting and exciting tale is not to be missed.
Nominated for “Favourite Books of 2020” by: Eibhlín Ní Chearbhaill (librarian) and also by Rosanna Kinsella (Assistant Headteacher and SENCO)
Eibhlín says, “Exciting to read. The house with the chicken legs appeared late on in the book…much to my delight. I love talking to the children about Sophie Anderson’s books. There is so much going on in this wonderful book”Rosanna says, “A magical adventure of courage and love, rooted in folklore.”
Fans of The House with Chicken Legs will be delighted to see a new middle-grade offering from Sophie Anderson and this new book is also a thoroughly modern story woven from a tapestry of traditional Russian folktales.
Yanka is a 12-year-old girl who has never found out where she really belongs. Standing out from the crowd by being much taller than the other children in her village and as strong as a bear, Yanka’s sense of displacement is deepened by the fact that she was abandoned in a bear cave as a baby and knows nothing about her real parents. She has always felt a strange pull towards the nearby forest and delights in hearing magical tales about the creatures within.
One day, Yanka wakes up to find that her legs have become bear legs. Horrified, she clumsily hot-foots into the forest and begins an epic quest to discover who she really is. The journey takes Yanka from ice-cold rivers to fiery volcanoes as she meets a mélange of magical characters along the way (including – much to my delight – the appearance of a house with chicken legs who helps out along the way…). As Yanka’s journey to discover more about her identity unfolds, the plot is interwoven with traditional folktales about bears, dragons and wish-granting trees, each one cleverly offering important clues to piece together about Yanka’s origins.
There is so much to love about Anderson’s storytelling. The stories-within-a-story feel like a beautifully crafted pass-the-parcel with delights to unwrap in each layer. The author’s appreciation of the natural world radiates through as the reader experiences the full sensory delights of the forest through Yanka, from the sensation of rolling in fresh pine needles to the realisation that every tree has its own unique scent. The familiar aspects of the forest seamlessly blend with the more fantastical ones, like the ancient tree that grants wishes or the fire-breathing dragon called Smey.
I highly recommend The Girl Who Speaks Bear to upper KS2 for its rich storytelling, its relatable themes and its wonderfully imaginative fantasy worlds.
As with Sophie Anderson’s other stories, this fantasy is a modern, relatable twist on a traditional Russian folktale – this time based on a poem called Nightingale the Robber about a mysterious man with bird-like features and a powerful, dangerous whistle. In The Thief Who Sang Storms, the magic is centred on a thirteen-year-old girl who attempts to bring together two opposing sides of her island while also trying to save her persecuted father.
Readers of the author’s previous books will enjoy spotting a familiar old friend. There’s always a myriad of new details too to delight readers in Sophie Anderson’s fantasy worlds. It’s easy to melt away into this story’s world of shipwrecks, floating islands, fortresses, swamp homes and magical bird-people. Underneath the fantasy sit a number of highly relatable themes – divided societies, grief, prejudice and the power of finding hope in dark times. It’s a mesmerising story that has many layers to unpack.
We also see a protagonist who is frustrated at not yet having received the ‘singing magic’ that she feels will empower her to make a difference. For a middle-grade readership on the threshold of puberty, the feeling of waiting to be big enough to make an impact is likely to be a familiar one – but the author has a message of encouragement for her readers through Linnet’s story. We may get frustrated when we lack agency to change the world around us, but often it’s the power of the smallest decisions and actions that lead to the biggest impact when we follow our hearts, seek to bridge divisions and pursue what is right.
This is a wildly imaginative and highly unusual story (in the best of ways) brimming with wonder, magic, folklore and compassion.
Marinka is a 12-year-old girl who lives with her grandmother, Baba Yaga. Together, they live in a house with chicken legs and move around from place to place, fulfilling their role of ‘guardians of the gate’ by guiding the spirits of the deceased through the gateway between life and death. Marinka’s destiny appears to be already decided; she is to train to become a Yaga like her grandmother and this means that she is never allowed to go to school or make friends with the living. What follows is an emotive coming-of-age story that sees Marinka working to resolve the tensions between her desires and the path she is expected to follow.
Sophie Anderson is a wonderful storyteller and has very skillfully crafted a compelling and believable magical world that enables readers to explore elements of a Slavic folk story in a fresh and relatable way.
This is a magical and captivating narrative that dances its way through darkness and light, joy and grief and life and death, and it is highly recommended for Years 5 and 6.
review
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?
yes
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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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