
Ferris
(a Heartfelt and Humorous Middle-grade Coming-of-age Novel About Family, Ghosts, and Growing Up - for Kids Ages 8-12 in Grades 3-7)
Candlewick Press · Print & ebook · April 1, 2025
“DiCamillo’s gift for conveying an entire person and world in a few brushstrokes of storytelling provides depth and quiet magic to this account of an eventful summer. . . .
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- Who it’s for
- Playful family chaos and a ghostly presence make room for tenderness and quiet magic.
- Themes
- Family relationships, Ghosts, Growing up
- Genres
- Ghost Stories, Family Stories, Friendship
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“DiCamillo’s gift for conveying an entire person and world in a few brushstrokes of storytelling provides depth and quiet magic to this account of an eventful summer. . . . Tenderly resonant and memorable.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) It’s the summer before fifth grade, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium: Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw.
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Uncle Ted has left Aunt Shirley and, to Ferris’s mother’s chagrin, is holed up in the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. And Charisse, Ferris’s grandmother, has started seeing a ghost at the threshold of her room, which seems like an alarming omen given that she is also feeling unwell. But the ghost is not there to usher Charisse to the Great Beyond. Rather, she has other plans—wild, impractical, illuminating plans. How can Ferris satisfy a specter with Pinky terrorizing the town, Uncle Ted sending Ferris to spy on her aunt, and her father battling an invasion of raccoons? As Charisse likes to say, “Every good story is a love story,” and Kate DiCamillo has written one for the ages: emotionally resonant and healing, showing the two-time Newbery Medalist at her most playful, universal, and profound.
Tender Mayhem
Playful family chaos and a ghostly presence make room for tenderness and quiet magic.
Come here for
- Humor alongside family worry and change
- A ghostly thread with an unexpectedly tender feel
Expect
- Lively commotion balanced by warmth
- A story that holds playful and poignant notes together
Where it sits
| Ghost Stories | 66% |
|---|---|
| Family Stories | 29% |
| Friendship | 28% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Multigenerational Families
- Loss & Grief
- Ghost Stories
- Authors
- Kate DiCamillo
- Publisher
- Candlewick Press
- Published
- April 1, 2025
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Family relationships · Ghosts · Growing up
- Reading lane
- Multigenerational Families