✨Growing Home (2025)

by Beth Ferry

Art by The Fan Brothers

4Rbooks 5/6 grades 4-6

Amazon 4.6/5 grades 1-4 (top 20 book of the year)

Goodreads 4.18

Common Sense Media 5/5 ages 6+

Synopsis

Toasty, the goldfish, and Ivy, the plant, live with the Tupper family in a nice house on Ramshorn Drive. Toasty is a little grumpy, and Ivy a little egotistical, but they tolerate each other. Nobody would every expect it to be a house of magic or adventure but looks are deceiving. They don't realize it yet, but there is magic in Toasty antique fishbowl and every time he splashes Ivy with water, she gains abilities that defy her natural state.

Soon they are joined in the Tupper home by Ollie the violet plant, Arthur the spider, Sunny the canary, and Louise the bee. Ollie arrives as a friend for Ivy but the other three all show up by accident. There is initial confusion and distrust, but they soon learn to be friends. They begin working together to get Sunny back to her home, and then rally together to keep the Tupper's, and Toasty, safe from an intruder who wants the antique fishbowl.

The plants and animals learn about friendship and home as they work to protect each other and keep their family safe, with a little magic from Toasty fishbowl.

Parent Guidelines low

Mr. and Mrs. Tupper are very worried about their business and don't pay as much attention to Jillian as they should.

Toasty, the goldfish, and Louise, the bee, are put in seemingly dangerous situations.

Mr. Brookstone breaks into the Tupper's house to steal Toasty's antique fishbowl.

There are some advanced vocabulary words used but most are provided with definitions.

Recommendations

This was a very cute, very sweet story, perfect for elementary aged students, particularly 4-5th grade. It could be an excellent read aloud to a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom also. The chapters are short, 2-5 pages at most. There are many positive themes and relationships and enough personality quirks providing opportunities for teacher or parent led discussions. Advanced vocabulary is utilized which will be appreciated by teachers and parents, alike.

Amazon has it as a 1st to 4th grade book, but I think it's too long and some of the vocabulary too rich for primary grade students without adult guidance. Upper grade students may struggle with the beginning of the book, it's a little slow, but should find the rest of the book interesting and fun.

Beth Ferry has been a picture book author, and this is her first middle grade effort. That's what this book reads like, a picture book that was expanded to include all the details and personality traits. The illustrations are fun and enhance the reading experience. I appreciated reading a book for children that had no reasons not to recommend it to children. I bought this book at Peregrine Book Company in Prescott, AZ.