
Growing Home
by Beth Ferry
Growing Home by Beth Ferry is assigned in US schools at grades 3–5. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Growing Home is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 3–5
- Age range
- Ages 8–11
- Pages
- 272
- Reading time
- about 5 hours (est.)
- First published
- 2025
- Genre
- Middle Grade Fantasy
- ISBN-13
- 9781665942485
Where to find this book
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About this book
Jillian's family has kept Toasty the goldfish's octagonal tank for generations — and the tank holds a magical secret that quietly draws her neighbors together and teaches the true meaning of friendship. Beth Ferry's warm grades 3-5 novel is a 2026-2027 Sunshine State Young Readers Award (Florida) nominee.
Why widely assigned
This Middle Grade Fantasy title, typically at grades 3–5. Written in the 2020s; pairs with curriculum units on friendship and family; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Themes
Where this book is assigned
Sunshine State Young Readers Award
- recommended·3rd grade · Floridasource: Sunshine State Young Readers Award 2026-2027 Master List (Grades 3-5)
- recommended·4th grade · Floridasource: Sunshine State Young Readers Award 2026-2027 Master List (Grades 3-5)
- recommended·5th grade · Floridasource: Sunshine State Young Readers Award 2026-2027 Master List (Grades 3-5)
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Common questions
- What grade level is Growing Home?
- Growing Home is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 3–5. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- How long does it take to read Growing Home?
- It takes about 5 hours to read Growing Home (272 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 300 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Growing Home?
- Growing Home appears on reading lists for Sunshine State Young Readers Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Growing Home banned in schools?
- Growing Home does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
- What themes does Growing Home explore?
- Central themes in Growing Home include friendship, family, perseverance. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 3–5 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: book-club.