The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester
By Barbara O’Connor
D&M Publishers, 2010
The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester tells the story of a young boy who has just moved into his grandfathers’ home. With the help of his friends and the “know-it-all” next door, the four children find, move and successfully operate a submarine in the lake in Owen’s backyard.
I really enjoyed this story, and I think children will too. I am thinking about using it as a chapter book read-aloud in my classroom. It allows for great stopping points to predict and infer, as well as to make a lot of connections with the characters. Owen has a conscious that speaks to him throughout the novel, mainly because Viola, the “know-it-all”, keeps nagging him about things he knows are right. This will make children think about the right and wrongs. The story also covers topics of friendship and sticking up for others. The three boys often have little arguments, but resolve them rather quickly. I think that a lot of young children can relate to this. It will make for great discussion in a classroom and lead to lots of different interpretations about what the characters believe, and should or should not do.
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