An unlikely tale unfolds at the small house at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive. It’s a story about two plants, a spider and a magical fish tank. Oh, and cheese puffs—lots and lots of cheese puffs.
An unlikely tale unfolds at the small house at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive. It’s a story about two plants, a spider and a magical fish tank. Oh, and cheese puffs—lots and lots of cheese puffs.
Number 3 Ramshorn Drive is a modest little house. To most people’s minds, it’s the home of the Tupper family: antique dealers, Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, and their vivacious little daughter, Jillian.
However, in this story, the Tuppers are more supporting players than the leads.
The unexpected central cast in our tale is made up of a pair of plants—Ivy and Ollie—a cantankerous goldfish named Toasty and a spider named Arthur. Each of these marvelous individuals can talk. And believe me, each has his or her own perspective to talk about.
Ivy, for instance, is cheery and a bit lightheaded (as ivy plants tend to be), and she’s convinced that she is Jillian’s favorite. In fact, the smiling, speckled plant believes she ought to be everyone’s favorite.
Toasty, the goldfish—named after toast for some unknown reason—is far less upbeat. In fact, he’s downright grouchy unless he’s munching on one of the cheese puffs that are occasionally tossed into his fishbowl. Nobody treats him like a favorite, and he’s rather unhappy about that fact.
Arthur and Ollie are recent transplants.
Jillian danced in from school one day with the shy little violet plant named Ollie (much to Ivy’s me-focused chagrin). Ollie is a little embarrassed that he has no flowers, so he tends to keep his opinions to himself.
And then there’s the bright and human-language-reading spider, Arthur. He arrived when an antique desk he was sleeping in made its way to the Tupper’s home. He can’t stand children like Jillian, or really, arachnid-smooshing humans of any type.
These four housemates watch and comment on the humans living around them. And they somehow form an unexpected friendship, even though they’re so very different.
However, the real interesting thing about this odd quartet is that they’re somehow … magical. Ivy can stretch her vines and leaves across the room and even lift heavy objects. Ollie can turn things invisible with a touch. Other strange abilities are afoot as well.
The friends aren’t sure what’s going on or why they have these newfound abilities. But Arthur is starting to think that it might have something to do with the Tupper’s gathered antiques.
Not only that, but the unnoticed friends are beginning to suspect that things aren’t right in the Tupper household. Arthur has noticed that the things humans call “bills” are stacked high on a nearby table. And the others have spotted someone who’s trying to steal something—something the Tuppers don’t even know they own.
The stakes are high. And it’s up to two plants, a goldfish and a spider to somehow do the unexpected.
None.
Growing Home is based on the fantasy supposition of talking plants, bugs, birds and fish. These talkative creatures have magical powers they believe are connected to objects collected by human antique dealers. And late in the story we’re told about an alchemist who once created four magical inventions imbued with an undefined power.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper are both loving parents, though they’re often very busy and don’t connect with Jillian as much as they’d like to: “Mr. Tupper was often confused by Jillian and her likes and dislikes, but when she was happy, he was happy. He didn’t want much more out of life than to make his family happy.”
Ivy comes to an understanding that her friendships are far better than many things she used to highly value: “Better than being right. Better than being the favorite. Better than sunlight or speckles or being the perfect shade of green. Even better than superpowers.”
Arthur delivers a bit of wisdom to Toasty, who’s constantly watching television from his fishbowl home. “You can’t believe everything you see on TV. You should be reading books instead of watching TV,” Arthur tells the goldfish
Arthur gets thumped around on several occasions. He’s almost smashed by a birdhouse, he breaks a leg under a typewriter key, and he’s flicked aside by a human, landing broken in a crumpled heap. (But he’s restored to health by his friends.) Arthur is also always on the lookout for Mrs. Tupper, who hates spiders and wields a plastic swatter for their disposal. On the other hand, Arthur makes note of the many flies he’s captured and gobbled in the past.
A man is hit by a very large book and knocked unconscious. The four friends all work together to keep Toasty from being washed down a drain.
None.
The story mentions how a smile can sometimes cause someone else to smile in return. Have you ever tried smiling when you wanted to connect with someone new?
The four central friends are very different from one another. But they come to accept each other for both their flaws and their good sides. Have you ever met someone very different from you but still made friends with them? What do you think is the secret to doing that?
By the story’s end the friends became much closer, almost feeling like family. Even Toasty, the grumpiest of the lot, felt that way, too. He says, “Family were the ones you could boss around because they could hear the please and thank you in your voice, even if you didn’t say them.”
Do you think that’s true? What choices and behaviors do you think make for a good family relationship? What was your favorite part of this book?
Growing Home is a sweet story about four distinctly different characters who learn to work together and then become good friends. The book stresses the importance of empathizing with others, searching for their strengths and working as a team.
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Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
