Toasty the Goldfish, Reluctant Narrator
Jillian and her family live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive with their only pet: Toasty, a goldfish who lives in a magnificent octagonal tank and genuinely cannot understand why Jillian is obsessed with a climbing ivy plant. From Toasty’s perspective, the tank is clearly the center of the universe. Why would anyone spend time staring at a plant?
This comic outsider perspective is one of the story’s great pleasures—but it also does something more: it invites readers to look freshly at what they take for granted, and to wonder why the people around them care so deeply about the things they do.
A Tank Full of Secrets
The octagonal tank has been in Jillian’s family for generations, and it holds a secret. That secret turns out to be the engine of the story—a piece of magic that isn’t there for spectacle, but to bring people together. The neighborhood’s cast of characters find themselves drawn into each other’s lives through the tank’s quiet influence, discovering that friendship can form between the most unlikely people.
Ferry’s magical realism is always in service of emotional truth. The enchantment here isn’t about power or adventure—it’s about dissolving the distances between people who might otherwise have passed each other by.
The Magic in Everyday Things
At its heart, “Growing Home” is about belonging—not just to a place, but to a community of people who notice and care for each other. The ivy plant, the old fish tank, the neighbors Jillian hasn’t yet met: all of it adds up to a story that asks readers to look more carefully at their own lives. Where is the magic hiding in your street, your neighborhood, your family’s old things?
Ferry answers that question with warmth and wit, and even Toasty—confused as ever—seems to sense that something wonderful has taken root.
Perfect For
Readers in grades 3–5 who love whimsy, warmth, and animal narrators. A wonderful pick for classrooms exploring themes of community and belonging. Great for family read-alouds, especially for families who love a little magic in their everyday.