THE HOUSE WITH CHICKEN LEGS RUNS AWAY

Change and adventure await an apprentice who helps souls find their way to the land of the dead when her ambulatory house develops a dangerous malady.

Still sharply grieving the loss of Baba, the Yaga who adopted her, 12-year-old Marinka tries to take up her beloved grandmother’s work of guiding souls of the dead to the stars. But she touches off a crisis when she opens The Gate and it not only refuses to close but begins to expand, sucking up furniture and loose items from the Yaga house. When the house responds by suddenly picking itself up and stalking off for parts unknown, Marinka; her mousy brown–haired best friend, Benjamin; and her pet jackdaw, Jack, become its anxious passengers. Where is it going? On a long journey, it turns out: not to the stars, but to the past, with challenges to face ranging from a broken leg to another perilous Gate—a journey that ends on a wondrous note. Anderson inflects her simply told tale, a follow-up to 2018’s The House With Chicken Legs, with tales and motifs from Russian folklore, and centers it around the close, loving mutual relationship between freckled Marinka, who has curly red hair, and her silent but solicitous ambulatory home. Readers will be as captivated by the depth of feeling as by the exploits of the large-hearted young hero.

Satisfying blend of quirky role reversal and uncomplicated feelings.