Growing Home Comprehension Questions & Reading Journal
Growing Home has 45 chapters · Grades 3–5 · 272 pages
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Inside the journal: 45 chapter pages, one question each · 3 example answers · a cover for your reader’s name
Chapter by chapter Each question is about its own chapter.
What does the first chapter help you understand about the setting and the idea of home in the story? Use details from the chapter to explain your thinking.See all 45 questions ↓
About the book
A motley crew 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.
Buy the book on Amazon ↗ (affiliate link)
Growing Home questions by chapter
We know this book well. Every question asks about something that happens in its chapter, a moment, a choice or a character, without giving away what comes next. One question per chapter, across all 45 chapters, and every one is editable before you print. The example answers under 3 of the chapters are the ones printed at the front of the booklet.
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Chapter 1
What does the first chapter help you understand about the setting and the idea of home in the story? Use details from the chapter to explain your thinking.
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Chapter 2
What do you learn about the main character’s personality in this chapter? Which actions, thoughts, or words show this?
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Chapter 3
Choose one important word or phrase from this chapter. What do you think it means, and why is it important to the story?
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Chapter 4
What problem or challenge becomes clearer in this chapter? How might it affect what happens next?
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Chapter 5
How do the characters treat one another in this chapter? What does this show about their relationships?
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Chapter 6
What is one question you have after reading this chapter? What clues from the story make you wonder about it?
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Chapter 7
What do you predict will happen next, and what evidence from this chapter supports your prediction?
Example answer: I predict that the main character will try a new way to solve the problem instead of giving up. In this chapter, I noticed that the character paid close attention and started thinking more carefully. That makes me think the character is learning from what has already happened. I also think the next chapter might show whether the plan works or not.
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Chapter 8
How does the main character change, even a little, in this chapter? Explain what causes the change.
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Chapter 9
What part of this chapter feels most important to the plot? Why do you think the author included it?
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Chapter 10
What lesson about patience, growth, or belonging do you notice in this chapter? How does the chapter show that lesson?
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Chapter 11
Describe a choice a character makes in this chapter. Do you agree with the choice? Why or why not?
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Chapter 12
What new information do you learn in this chapter? How does it change your understanding of the story?
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Chapter 13
Pick a sentence, description, or moment that created a strong picture in your mind. What did you imagine, and how did the author help you see it?
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Chapter 14
How is the mood of this chapter different from the mood earlier in the book? What words or events create that mood?
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Chapter 15
Which character do you understand better after reading this chapter? What did you learn about that character?
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Chapter 16
What conflict appears or grows stronger in this chapter? Is it a problem between characters, inside a character, or both?
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Chapter 17
How does this chapter connect to the title Growing Home? Give at least one detail from the chapter.
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Chapter 18
What advice would you give to one character at this point in the story? Explain why your advice might help.
Example answer: I would tell the character to be honest about their worries instead of keeping everything inside. When characters do not share their feelings, other people cannot help them. I think talking to someone kind would make the problem feel smaller. It might also help the character understand that they are not alone.
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Chapter 19
What is something a character hopes for in this chapter? How can you tell?
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Chapter 20
Choose a word that might be new or interesting to you from this chapter. How can you use context clues to figure out its meaning?
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Chapter 21
What surprised you most in this chapter? How did the surprise affect your feelings about the story?
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Chapter 22
How does a friendship, family bond, or community connection develop in this chapter? Use details to support your answer.
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Chapter 23
What do you think is the most important decision made in this chapter? How could it shape later events?
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Chapter 24
What does this chapter teach about taking care of something or someone? How do the characters show care?
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Chapter 25
If you could ask the author one question about this chapter, what would it be? Why would you ask that question?
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Chapter 26
What obstacle do the characters face in this chapter, and what steps do they take to handle it?
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Chapter 27
How do the character’s feelings change from the beginning to the end of this chapter? What causes the change?
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Chapter 28
What detail in this chapter seems small but might become important later? Explain your reasoning.
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Chapter 29
How does the setting influence what happens in this chapter? What might be different if the setting changed?
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Chapter 30
What theme, or big idea, is becoming stronger in the story by this chapter? Support your answer with details.
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Chapter 31
Which character shows courage, kindness, or responsibility in this chapter? Describe what the character does.
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Chapter 32
What do you predict will happen with the main problem after this chapter? What clues make you think so?
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Chapter 33
What is one mistake a character makes in this chapter? What could the character learn from it?
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Chapter 34
How does this chapter show that growth can happen in more than one way? Think about people, relationships, or places.
Example answer: This chapter shows that growth is not only about something getting bigger or older. I think the characters are growing because they are learning how to trust each other and make better choices. Their home or community also feels like it is changing because people are caring for it in a new way. To me, that shows growth can happen inside people and around them at the same time.
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Chapter 35
What words or actions in this chapter reveal how a character is feeling? Explain the evidence you found.
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Chapter 36
How does this chapter make you feel as a reader? What specific moment makes you feel that way?
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Chapter 37
What is one connection you can make between this chapter and your own life, another book, or the world around you?
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Chapter 38
What is the most important thing a character realizes in this chapter? How might that realization change the character’s actions?
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Chapter 39
How does the author build suspense or make you want to keep reading in this chapter?
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Chapter 40
What does this chapter suggest about what it means to belong somewhere? Use details from the story.
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Chapter 41
Which earlier event does this chapter remind you of? How are the two moments alike or different?
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Chapter 42
What problem is close to being solved in this chapter? What still needs to happen?
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Chapter 43
How do the characters work together in this chapter? What does their teamwork help them accomplish?
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Chapter 44
What final changes do you notice in the characters or their home by this chapter? Why are those changes meaningful?
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Chapter 45
Looking back at the whole book, what do you think the story’s message is? Use examples from the beginning, middle, and end to support your answer.
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How to use this Growing Home reading journal
At home, as a discussion guide
After each chapter your reader writes a few lines on that chapter’s question. Read the answer together at bedtime: it shows what they understood and gives you something real to talk about, without a quiz.
In class, as a novel study
Print a class set (booklets fold from plain letter paper) and use one question per chapter as the reading-response or literature-circle prompt. The example answers at the front show what a full answer looks like.
Homeschool
One booklet covers the whole book, 45 chapters, so it doubles as the reading log for Growing Home. Reword any question before printing to match your reader.
Printing
The booklet PDF prints on ordinary 8.5 × 11 paper: print double-sided (flip on the short edge) at 100%, fold the stack in half and staple on the fold. There is also a one-page-per-sheet PDF and A5 binder pages.
Where the questions come from
Each question is about its own chapter. We know this book well. Every question asks about something that happens in its chapter, a moment, a choice or a character, without giving away what comes next. The questions were drafted with AI from what is known about the book and checked before publishing; every one is editable before you print.
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