Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
I found Growing Home (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025) by Beth Ferry and illustrated by The Fan Brothers a delightful read.
Meet the Tupper family, and more importantly, Ivy the plant, who will tell you she’s Jillian’s favorite, and a grumpy goldfish named Toasty, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive. From his eight-sided antique fish tank, Toasty can see everything on the first floor–Mrs. Tupper using the adding machine, Mr. Tupper sneaking downstairs for ice cream, and Jillian singing, dancing and kissing Ivy. Their lives are all about to be disrupted. Prepare for rescues, magic, a villain, new friends, and lots of cheese puffs.
This story will definitely appeal to the younger middle grade readers. It sure left a smile on my face.
This is the author’s first novel–she usually writes picture books. I hope she writes more long fiction. Read about Beth here and see all her books here.