What books are similar to Growing Home?

The 10 closest matches to Growing Home by Beth Ferry on ReadingList include The House at the Edge of Magic, Curveball, The Trumpet of the Swan, Punycorn, and Legendarios: Wrath of the Rain God. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, family, and perseverance), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Growing Home reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like Growing Home

If you liked Growing Home, read The House at the Edge of Magic, Curveball, or The Trumpet of the Swan — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes — shares perseverance

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Looking for books like Growing Home by Beth Ferry (Middle Grade Fantasy · grades 3–5)? It’s most often read for its themes of friendship, family, and perseverance. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 3–5 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The House at the Edge of Magicgrades 3–5: Shares themes of perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Curveballgrades 3–5: Shares themes of friendship, family, and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Trumpet of the Swangrades 3–6: Shares themes of family and perseverance, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Punycorngrades 3–5: Shares themes of perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Legendarios: Wrath of the Rain Godgrades 3–6: Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecygrades 3–7: Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–7). Amazon → books like this →
The Witching Windgrades 3–6: Shares themes of family, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1)grades 2–5: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktalegrades 3–5: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–5). Amazon → books like this →
Witchlingsgrades 2–5: Shares themes of friendship, same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), and overlapping grades (2–5). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Growing Home for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of perseverance and overlapping grades (2–5).
Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater · grades K–2 — Shares themes of perseverance.
Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius by Lynne Cox · grades 2–5 — Shares themes of perseverance and overlapping grades (2–5).

Books like Growing Home for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

Bea and the New Deal Horse by L. M. Elliott · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of family and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–5).
Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–6).
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance and overlapping grades (3–7).
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan · 740L — Shares themes of friendship, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
A Game of Noctis by Deva Fagan · grades 3–6 — Same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy), overlapping grades (3–6), and the same era (2020s).

Books like Growing Home for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

Brick Dust and Bones by M.R. Fournet · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of family and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Skyriders by Polly Holyoke · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl by Julie Kagawa · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of perseverance, both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list, and same genre (Middle Grade Fantasy).
The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of family and perseverance and both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list.
Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of friendship and perseverance and both on the Sunshine State Young Readers Award list.

Common questions

What books are similar to Growing Home?: The 10 closest matches to Growing Home by Beth Ferry on ReadingList include The House at the Edge of Magic, Curveball, The Trumpet of the Swan, Punycorn, and Legendarios: Wrath of the Rain God. Each is scored on shared themes (friendship, family, and perseverance), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 3–5), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Growing Home reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 3–5), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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