The House with Chicken Legs On the Road
Sophie Anderson: The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away (Usborne Publishing 2026) Everyone usually thinks of Baba Yaga, one of the characters of Slavic folk tales, that she is evil. She lives in a house with chicken legs surrounded by a bone fence and people go into the hut but don’t come out. In fact, Baba Yaga is the guardian of the Gate that leads to the afterlife. The dead can return to the stars through this gate. Marinka, the heroine of our story, also lives in such a house with her grandmother, who is the Guardian. However, Marinka does not want to be the next Guardian. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life yet, but she’s sure she wants to decide it for herself. First, she wants to make a friend, a real one who stays for more than one night, not like the dead.…
Poirot investigates
Agatha Christie: Poirot’s Early Cases Agatha Christie: Murder in the Mews Agatha Christie: The Harlequin Tea Set Agatha Christie: The Labours of Hercules Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published in 1920 and soon brought fame to the author and also to her fictional detective, Poirot. Hercule Poirot investigates in a total of 33 novels and 7 short story collections. Since The Mysterious Affair at Styles, there have been many movie, theater, cartoon and graphic novel adaptations. There was even a video game made about the Belgian detective, and his most famous movie actor is David Suchet. Adaptation of the stories is still happening in the form of movies and series. Thanks to Sophie Hannah, we can see the world’s most famous detective investigating again in book pages. Poirot is usually associated with the novels Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, but…
Scarlet saves the Universe (again)
James Davis: Scarlet Saves the Multiverse (HarperCollins Publishers 2026) Scarlet, although she has already saved the world once, still can’t agree with her brother on who should eat from the bowl they inherited from their grandmother… Moreover, as the Defenders of the Universe, they receive two very important distress signals and they don’t even know yet about a much bigger problem. This is a problem that could throw the entire Multiverse off balance. This story is also very cute and funny, with jokes that both adults and children can laugh at. What I liked the most was that in addition to interesting science fiction elements, serious topics were also included, such as anxiety, but we can also learn why it is not worth worrying. The wonderful illustrations were made by Dotty Sutton. And I suspect that Scarlet will soon be needed again to save the world… James Davis currently lives…
In the dentist’s chair
Agatha Christie: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (originally published in 1940) Who wouldn’t be afraid of dentists? Surely even the great Poirot would faint when he had to think about his dentist’s chair. This dentist’s chair links to each other a banker, a mysterious foreign person, an ordinary middle-aged woman, a famous detective and some other common people. Poirot was lucky this time, during his usual dental check-up, only a few cavities needed to be filled, but his dentist was not so lucky because he died at the same day. The case seems to be a suicide, but something is troubling Poirot. I started reading this novel when I was waiting for my dentist. The story was very exciting and, although there were not many suspects, I still couldn’t figure out who done it. And that’s exactly how I like it! The political situation of the period provides the background…
Scarlet, Defender of the Universe
James Davis: Scarlet: Defender of the Universe (HarperCollins Publishers 2025) Scarlet, a nine-year-old girl, is smart and studies well. She feels that she doesn’t get enough attention at home, but of course her little brother is allowed to do anything. But now thanks to him, she saw an ad looking for someone to protect the Universe. She applies for the job. The ad was posted by Jasper, who is the current Defender of the Universe and is very bored alone. Moreover, he has no sense of fear, so a little protection wouldn’t hurt him either. Together they are immediately called to an urgent case. The planet Alpha 4267 KD4 is in danger, or, as its inhabitants call it: Earth. The story is very cute and funny, but it also deals with important topics such as family and the relationship between family members. The plot is very exciting and also logically…
The Mask of Aribella
Anna Hoghton: The Mask of Aribella (Chicken House 2020) Aribella is the daughter of a Venetian lacemaker. She likes to get up at dawn and go to the fish market – although she doesn’t have to -, where she helps her friend Theo. It’s only here that she feels she belongs. Her mother was lost ten years ago, but her father can’t free from the grief. She barely remembers her mother, but she misses her very much. One day she discovers a power in herself that she didn’t know about before. Unfortunately, others have seen it too, and they want to imprison her for witchcraft. At the last moment, she is saved by a mysterious stranger who introduces her to the world of the Cannovacci, people with extraordinary powers. Aribella can finally belong to somewhere, but this new world is overshadowed by an old secret and the whole of Venice…
The magician revealed themselves
Justyn Edwards: The Great Fox Revealed (Walker Books 2024) Justyn Edwards graduated from the University of Southampton with a degree in Archaeology. Since then he has worked as a caravan park attendant, paperboy and software engineer, but never as an archaeologist. He always wanted to be a writer and drew inspiration for his books from magic shows. He realized that a magician’s trick is defined by the story they tell their audience. A story can also be a magic trick because the author chooses when to reveal their secrets to the reader. This is how Justyn’s debut novel The Great Fox Illusion was born. Flick Lions is still searching for answers, and with them his father. Now she has a chance to find him, but to do so she must uncover one of her father’s tricks. She and her best friend, Charlie, set out to search an abandoned mine for…
Félix, Net, Nika again and again
Rafał Kosik: Félix, Net, Nika and the Theoretically Possible Catastrophe (originally published in Powergraph in 2005) Félix, the inventor, Net, the IT genius and Nika, the strange girl, are still inseparable. It is spring and they finally have a break from the gang of invisible people, but now they have to deal with more than just their exams at school, because new strange events are happening. Félix’s father is called to the sea by the latest secret mission, which was launched because of the documents found by Félix and his friends. This comes in handy for the children, because they can spend their summer vacation by the sea. However, here they have an even greater chance of starting a process that could end in a theoretically possible catastrophe for them and the whole world. Compared to the first book, this story turns from a classic adventure novel into a large-scale…
Japan
Márton Moór: Maji-de (Underground Kiadó 2017) We’ve all seen something that made us say, “Is this serious?” Márton Moór experienced this about every ten minutes in Japan. Japanese slang has a good term for such situations: Maji-de. Márton Moór lived and worked in Japan between 2010 and 2017 as an English teacher. During his stay abroad, he wrote a blog about his experiences, and upon returning home, this book was published, which summarizes the seven years spent in Japan as seven days, supplemented at the end of the chapters with memorable, sometimes astonishing, sometimes funny and kind moments from his English lessons. I first read the book when it was published and it had a great impact on me. This year, I read several Japanese authors and thought I would refresh my knowledge about the country. I was impressed by the ruthless honesty of the book, the way it tells…
Woody Allen’s first novel
Woody Allen: What’s with Baum? (Swift Press 2025) Woody Allen is one of the most well-known and controversial figures in Hollywood. Despite his personal problems and lawsuits, he has made an inescapable impact with 50 films and numerous writings. His work has been awarded numerous prizes: he holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, with a total of 16, winning three of it with Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Midnight in Paris. He also won the award for directing Annie Hall, and his actors have also received the honor several times. He stated that his 50th movie would be his last. He had previously written short stories and stand-up comedy performances, but after his last film he wrote his first novel. The main character of the story is Asher Baum, a Jewish journalist who has recently tried himself at writing plays and novels,…