The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester

Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2012
PB: 978-0-3126-7430-4
Ages 9-12

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester

Available in paperback and ebook

Four friends.
A frog.
One fantastic secret.
And a summer they’ll never forget.

An amazing secret has tumbled off a freight train into Carter, Georgia, and Owen Jester is the only person who knows about it. If he can simply manage to evade his grandfather’s snappish housekeeper, organize his two best friends, and keep his nosy neighbor, Viola, at bay, he just might be in for a summer of a lifetime.

A fantastic fable of friends, enemies, and a superbly slimy bullfrog.

Signed books are available from Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, NC.

Videos

Book Trailer

Barbara reads Chapter 1

Downloadable Resources

Awards and Distinctions

State Awards

Junior Library Guild Selection

Reviews

Kirkus
Kirkus
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O’Connor has spun a lovely read that perfectly captures the schemes and plans of school-age kids in the long days of summer.
School Library Journal
School Library Journal
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This well-crafted novel creates a charming mix of the commonplace and the extraordinary….Appealling and authentic, this tale of summertime adventure will be a hit with readers year round.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
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O’Connor masterfully twists the two plot threads….[and] fashions a geography of childhood freedom.
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
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“Owen Jester tiptoed across the gleaming linoleum floor and slipped the frog into the soup.” This opening line, like much of O’Connor’s storytelling, strikes with lightning-fast characterization.... O'Connor's funny, triumphant tale reveals the wisdom of listening to one's inner voice over the noise of one's peers.
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