The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away

by Sophie Anderson

Brimming with fairy-tale magic, friendship and extraordinary adventure, The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away is an epic, spellbinding tale set in to the bestselling, award-winning world of The House with Chicken Legs.

All Marinka's life, she has lived in her house with chicken legs. Running across the world on magical adventures, Marinka knows how her house is feeling, and it listens to her, too. But something is wrong. And before anyone can stop it, the house has pulled itself apart and run away.

With her friend Benjamin and jackdaw Jack, Marinka races after the house to find answers. Travelling across far-distant lands, through new realms and magical places, Marinka must face up to her fears to save her friends. But her house might not want to stop running...

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

Published April 9, 2026

About the author

Sophie Anderson grew up on the Welsh coast and now lives in the Lake District with her family. Her writing is most often inspired by folk and fairy stories, especially the Slavic tales her Prussian grandmother told her when she was young.

Across her bestselling novels, Sophie has won the Independent Bookshop Book of the Year Award and the Wales Book of the Year Award, and been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal twice, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award, the British Book Awards’ Children’s Fiction Book of the Year, the Andersen Prize and the Branford Boase Award.

Sophie’s books have been translated into over twenty-five languages, and The House with Chicken Legs has been adapted for stage by Les Enfants Terribles.

Reviews

[Hannah Rials Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the wait ❤️

[Jessica Brownlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most beautiful second instalment to this series. The house with chicken legs was so gorgeous so I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed. It was enchanting, moving and emotional in all the best ways. This book has many twists and the action never unfolds quite how you think it will. The ending was especially poignant and just felt like the right direction for this story to go in. It could be read as a stand alone too with the perfect amount of recap and context given for readers who have read the first book a long time ago, never or recently. 'The house with chicken legs runs away' was simply delightful, and I would definitely recommend it to readers young and old.

[Farah G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sequel to the smash hit story of the house with chicken legs, and it feels as though you are reading part of what is essentially a duology.

After Marinka's Baba departs through the Gate to the other side, her house begins to act oddly, and an attempted ceremony to send off the dead takes an unexpected and catastrophic turn.

When her house suddenly runs away Marinka, her best friend Benjamin, and her pet jackdaw must undertake an arduous journey in hot pursuit. And they will face many trials before they can find answers about what lies behind the house's strange behaviour.

This is an interesting story that draws on Russian folklore but gives things an unusual and imaginative twist.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Emma Renshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous, magical and incredibly moving read about love, grief, adventure and the importance of discovering who you are after all of it.
I loved returning to the world of The House with Chicken Legs. Five stars. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the long awaited sequel to The House with Chicken Legs. It immediately pulled me back in to the world of Yaga with Marinka, Jack and Benjamin fighting to save the house.

A great adventure story with even more character development for Marinka in this book. Lots more magic, myth and fairy tales. A fun, quick read.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant, a fun and exciting story with a heart-throbbing but beautiful ending. The perfect ending to this series

[Liberty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I did cry, actually.