Maddison Addison Doyle, a 9-year-old city girl, shares the same critical, analytical mindset as her math genius parents, to the point that she would never, ever entertain the notion that any kind of magic might exist. When her mother falls seriously ill, Maddison is forced to spend a summer in Texas with her estranged grandparents, whom she never knew existed. With a strong aversion to Texas and constant worry about her sick mother, Madison is determined to make her grandparents, Grammy and GranDude, miserable.

Meanwhile, Grammy and GranDude enjoy a Texas paradise in their magical backyard, affectionately dubbed JarMar. JarMar is home to a host of quirky local “critters” who have the uncanny ability to speak with the pair as well as with each other. When Maddison arrives, she cannot understand or speak their “critter talk.” She considers most of the animals “gross,” and views her grandparents as old school hippie kooks. But Grammy, GranDude, and the critters are patient and persistent, and, with a hefty sprinkle of nature’s regenerative magic, they are able to help Maddison open her mind and her heart to the beautiful miracles that exist in the world. But is there a miracle to heal her mother as well as her broken family? We can only hope.