Books published by publisher The Chicken House

With his mother missing and his father dead, twelve-year-old Flip's new home is a remote Dutch island. Menaced by the local bullies and followed everywhere by a mysterious girl, he wonders how he'll ever adapt to life on his uncle's farm.But everything changes the day a sinking ship leaves a horse drowning in the waves. Risking his life to rescue it, Flip is told he may keep the horse -- but only if he can teach it how to work for its keep. From that moment on a friendship grows. But can a boy and a horse really save each other? And what other dark storm threaten their hard-won happiness?Storm Horse is a thrilling, heartfelt tale of a boy, a horse, and their journey together towards a new life.

Two queens, two religions, two visions for the future of the nation. Fleeing to London with a witch hunter on her trail, Alyce discovers her own dark magic and lands herself embroiled in the struggle.Alyce's mother has just been burnt at the stake for practicing witchcraft. With only a thin set of instructions and a witch's mommet for guidance, Alyce must face the world that she's been sealed off from -- a world of fear and superstition. With a witch hunter fast on her trail, she'll need the help of an innkeeper and a boy looking to discover the truth behind his own mother's past.But as her journey continues, another war rages: a hidden war of the supernatural, of the living and the dead. Good and evil are blurred, and nobody's motives can be trusted. And Alyce finds herself thrown unwillingly into the conflict. Struggling to understand her own powers, she is quickly drawn into a web of secret, lies, and dark magic that could change the fate of the world she is just coming to know.This dark, twisty, and thrillingly original debut will leave readers entranced in its suspenseful plot and rich prose.

Spinning out of control!Just when you thought it couldn't get any deeper, darker, or weirder...Creeping into the open through cracks in the earth, the Styx have surfaced, and are now infesting England like some parasitic scourge -- carriers of a bizarre black secret that will place every last Topsoiler in mortal peril. Unless Will Burrows puts a stop to the propagation.Armed to the teeth, with little more than a motley crew of former commandos as reinforcements, can Will, Chester, and Elliott find a way to squash the threat? Or will they only find themselves in a deadly downward SPIRAL?

Arianwyn has flunked her witch's assessment: She's doomed. Declared an apprentice and sent to the town of Lull in disgrace, she may never become a real witch -- much to the glee of her arch-rival, Gimma.But remote Lull is not as boring as it seems. Strange things are sighted in the woods, a dangerous infestation of hex creeps throughout the town, and a mysterious magical visitor arrives with his eye on her. With every spirit banished, creature helped, and spell cast, Arianwyn starts to get the hang of being a witch -- even if she's only an apprentice. But the worst still lies ahead. For a sinister darkness has begun to haunt her spells, and there may be much more at stake than just her pride... for Arianwyn and the entire land.

A captivating, atmospheric mystery set in the crystalline winterland of Russia.Abandoned in a blinding blizzard in the wintry wilds of Russia, Sophie Smith fears for her life. But just like in a fairy tale, a princess comes to her rescue: the beautiful, exotic Anna Volkonskaya. Over a river of ice in a horse-drawn sleigh, she brings Sophie and her friends to a magnificent, if weathered, winter palace. At first, Sophie is enchanted by Princess Anna's stories of long-ago royalty, of white wolves and gray diamonds. But when the princess takes a particular interest in her, Sophie grows concerned. What is her place in the sinister mystery that surrounds her? Even as the wind and wolves howl outside, is she more in danger now, a prisoner of the palace, than she ever was lost in the snow?

The sequel to the #1 New York Times Bestseller!It's now been two years since Ben and Firedrake defeated Nettlebrand and rescued the silver dragons. Both boy and dragon have finally found homes, but they must live hundreds of miles apart and can only see each other every once in a while.During one such visit, news reaches Ben, the Greenblooms, and their friends that the last Pegasus in the world has been discovered. The legendary horse has three unhatched eggs with him, but the only way they'll ever hatch -- and continue the survival of this incredible magical species -- is to place them under a griffin's feather. But griffins are the most dangerous creatures in the world, and their mortal enemies are dragons... Ben has vowed not to tell Firedrake about his quest, to protect him. But as he and the Greenbloom team set off for a remote island where the terrible griffins are rumored to live, he may just need the help of his best friend and dragon...

The Trials are over. WICKED have collected all the information they can. Now it's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test. But something has happened that no-one at WICKED has foreseen: Thomas has remembered more than they think. And he knows WICKED can't be trusted ... The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. With the Gladers divided, can they all make it?

Weirdest. Crime Fighters. Ever.Sheba, the fur-faced Wolfgirl, can sniff out a threat from miles away. Monkeyboy clambers up buildings in the blink of an eye -- then drops deadly stink bombs of his own making (yes, THAT kind)! Sister Moon sees in the dark, and moves at the speed of light. Born with weird abnormalities that make them misfits, these FREAKS spend their nights on public display, trapped in a traveling Victorian sideshow. But during the day, they put their strange talents to use: They solve the most sinister crimes. And in a dank, desperate world of crooks and child-snatchers, they're determined to defend London's most innocent victims: the street urchins disappearing from the city's streets.

Allied with Cronus, the embodiment of all evil, Medea has raised an army of the undead to invade her family's kingdom. Now in paperback, the thrilling conclusion to the acclaimed ICEMARK trilogy!Oskan and Thirrin thought their bad-seed daughter was gone for good -- burnt to a cinder and cast out onto the Spirit Plain. But banishment did not kill Medea: It made her stronger. Now, allied with Cronus, embodiment of all evil, the young sorceress is plotting revenge. Queen Thirrin is distracted by a new invader whose troops ride huge triceratops-like beasts into battle. But the warlock Oskan realizes the true threat to the kingdom is the demon army assembled by his daughter. To ensure the Icemark's eternal safety, he knows he must destroy her soul--even at the risk of his own.

Asha lives on the family farm with her mother in rural India. Her father is away working in the city, and when the money he sends stops suddenly, a wicked aunt arrives. She's determined to seize the property - and the treasure rumoured to be hidden on the land. Guided by a majestic bird which Asha believes to be the spirit of her grandmother, she and her best friend Jeevan embark on a journey to the city, across the Himalayas, to find her father and save her home ...

"An exciting new voice among the world's storytellers." -- Cornelia FunkeA heartfelt, adventure-filled, and charming novel about a peculiar girl who embarks on a journey to find her father, the wizard.Penelope has always been different from other children. Her hair has been gray since she was born. It rains every year on her birthday. And she knows what her mother is going to say before the words even come out of her mouth. But one day, Penelope wakes up with sparkling red hair and her mother confesses the truth: Her father is not only still alive, he's a wizard! Penelope has inherited his powers, and must embark on a journey to find him.