Growing Home

De: Beth Ferry

Narrado por: Kate Coventry

An instant New York Times bestseller!
“A meditative, charming delight.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

An unlikely team of talkative plants, a curious spider, and a grumpy goldfish use their newfound magical abilities to defend their family from a greedy human in this charming middle grade novel from New York Times bestselling author Beth Ferry, with illustrations from the award-winning Fan brothers.

Ivy is the beloved houseplant of young Jillian Tupper of Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, much to the constant dismay of Toasty the goldfish, who is technically the family pet—swimming in his special place of honor, the antique octagonal fish tank—and should be the most loved. It seems that’s how the cookie (or cheese puffs, in Toasty’s case) crumbles in the curious Tupper household, but soon a sequence of thrilling and magical events challenges that way of life forever.

First, there’s the arrival of Arthur, a knowledgeable spider with a broken leg and a curious mind, hidden in an old typewriter. Then Jillian throws everyone for a loop when she brings home dear, sweet Ollie, a school houseplant who just wants to be friends and sing. When Toasty splashes the plants with his tank water out of frustration, the friends learn that they can do magical things—like lift heavy objects and turn things invisible!

It turns out Toasty’s fishtank isn’t just for fish; it was made by a curious inventor who gave it special powers that, in the wrong hands, could disrupt everything forever. And a curious man with purple shoes just so happens to want that tank at any cost. Can Ivy, Toasty, Arthur, and Ollie grow to be friends in time to work together to save their beloved Tupper family from utter ruin?

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Kate Coventry sounds fully believable as she narrates this bewitching story featuring a talking goldfish, a plant, and a spider. Listeners meet feisty Jillian, whose parents ignore her while they concentrate on their antique shop; grumpy goldfish Toasty; braggart plant Ivy; and brave spider Arthur. Most enjoyable are the critters’ amusing arguments as they try to outwit each other to be Jillian’s favorite. Coventry directly addresses young listeners as “listener” as she speaks about math and books while teaching gentle lessons on acceptance and friendship. When a thief tries to steal Toasty’s aquarium, everyone unites to use their unique skills to move him to safety. This story is beautifully presented through Coventry’s skillfully developed personalities and wise advice."

Timely Life Lessons

An easy book to share between generations, this book presents food for thought without preaching. It’s clever and enjoyable read in my case shared with two nine year olds. I loved the bonus of grammar points and vocabulary expanding definitions.

a sweet friendship story

This book was a wonderful, sweet and funny story about friendship. Ivy is a talkative, naive, extroverted houseplant who adores her human and wants to be friends with Toasty, the goldfish. He is grumpy and jealous, and prefers to be left alone. Soon they are joined by an injured spider, and a second houseplant. Unknown to their humans they have long conversations about everything going on in the home. And, they even help to save the family from a villain!

I loved the wonderful illustrations, the moments that seemed to break the fourth wall and introduce young readers to difficult vocabulary, and the lively personalities of each character. In elementary school this would have been a favorite.