Introduction & Prologue

1. How can you tell if Jesse is a boy or a girl? (A girl’s name is spelled Jessie. A boy’s name is spelled Jesse.)
2. What is Jesse wearing? (outdoor winter clothes)
3. How do his clothes imply a certain season? (Bundled up for snowy winter)
4. So, this picture is most likely the boy named Jesse. What is he doing? Why do you think he is holding a gold egg? Notice how LIGHT is glimmering in the moon that is very large, and the stars are sparkling. Do you think the moon and star Light may play a part in his story? What might they represent? (Jesse’s dreams… and shining Light on the mysteries in Jesse’s life.)
5. What time of day is it? Where is he? Why is this important? (The moon and stars often represent a dream or a wish; also, the drawing makes them feel larger than life and somewhat mysterious.)
6. The author is Patsie McCandless- Her last name sounds like…? (It might be Celtic, of Irish derivation. Do any of you have Irish in your family? – What do you know of Irish legends and myths? (Leprechaun – Magic –Tricks – Pot of Gold at end of Rainbow) You will meet other nationalities in Jesse’s story. Can you share your family’s derivations?

These praise-worthy comments are written by Teachers, Authors, Inventors, Theater Directors, Book lovers, – they think this is a very special book. Look at the very last example – it is from a 9 year old boy: “I wish there were infinite pages of Jesse!” What do you think of that?

Read the synopsis of each of Jesse’s books? From these descriptions, what do you think Jesse is like? Have you read any of these books?

This page is usually devoted or addressed to someone very special to the author.
This is dedicated to: You who know your Light … you who seek your Light ad magnum gloria Dei.
Do you know that you have an inner Light? Do you have another name for it? Are you seeking – looking for – your Light?
Ad magnum gloria Dei is Latin: for the greater glory of God.
This reminds us to live our lives for the greater glory of God; to honor, praise and thank God who created each of us – and the world for goodness, truth and love.

We see the Title and Author again.
Look at the bottom of the page. There is a symbol there.

It is very intricate.
– How would you describe it?
– What meaning could it have? Look carefully and you will see three circles connected in interwoven segments to three circles. Follow the line with your finger and you will see that it actually has no beginning or ending. It simply goes on and on. The unbroken and never-ending line and is said to represent many things, such as unity, protection, strength, everlasting life and the infinite power and love of God. Perhaps this will be a part of Jesse’s story.)
– Light On Publications – I wonder if this name has something to do with the Moon and Star Light we saw on the cover? Light On… and on…? And on…?

There are four Parts and 47 Chapters in this book. That may seem like a lot – yet one of the PRAISE QUOTES is: “I wish there were infinite pages of Jesse!”
What do you notice about the Titles of each PART? – (They each refer to LIGHT.)
I wonder how the Light will shine in each chapter – or Part?

Here, we find some answers to our questions. (Take turns reading aloud together)- “Jesse is faced with “Some … THING … quivering – hovering before him.” What is going on? Does that make you want to dive into the book?
– Right away, you learn something about Jesse. What is it? (God gave each of us a Light before we were born, and Jesse knows his Light. Jesse has a thrill-digging gang. He lives on his grandmother’s magical Windy Hill Farm.)
– But a hurricane of questions swirl around Jesse. Do you think there will be a real hurricane? What are the topics of Jesse’s questions? (Two stolen treasure boxes, a gold egg (like the one on the cover), a very curious boy named “Nobody”, an odd, menacing scientist, and a long-hidden sorrow.)
– Somewhere between petrified and panicked, Jesse discovers that secrets, sorrows and treachery are snuffing out his Light. What could Jesse be doing that would land him in such dark, untrustworthy, double-dealing trouble? How can Jesse keep his Light on?
– What does the author tell you to do? (OPEN THE BOOK! ILLUMINATE JESSE’S PUZZLES AND MYSTERIES … and his whirlwind of DARING QUESTS!)
At the bottom of the back cover, what do other people say about LIGHT ON? How can each example help us know more about what it will be like to read this book?

• Everyone’s favorite pint-sized puzzle master and shining Light is back! Jesse brings us a spiritual tale of trusting in God’s plan for us. The perfect book to share with your love-adores, Jesse will leave you with a smile on your face and Light in your heart.
  ~ Colleen Scharpf, Book Club Moderator
• Here is Jesse, bearing the Light into the world around him. And suddenly everything is woven with meaning—love, goodness, joy, life! I do not want this story to end!
  ~ N. Gjeluci, Linguist
• “From puzzling clues to hair-raising escapes, Jesse meets trouble at Windy Hill Farm with courage, cleverness, and his shining Light. In an adventure brimming with mystery and laughter, it made me feel nine years old again!”
  ~ Dr. Lori Skucas

Let’s begin!
LIGHT ON – with Jesse!

– Who is speaking to you? (James O’Neil, father to young Jesse O’Neil. He is dead and talking to the reader from the Great Illuminations – Heaven. He was killed trying to help extinguish a fire at the Staten Island Ferry depot. James is your Guide through this book, LIGHT ON.)
– What does James say about Light and Love? (From here in the Great Illuminations, we send our Light and love to you on earth all the time. Like when you wish for anything and it appears! But you call it ‘coincidence’. It’s God. His Light. Through us. Nudging you, awakening you, to your Light. God winks! It truly is your everyday magic!
It is the magic that can turn the dark into Light. Can turn the upside-down world God-side up!)
– What do you learn about James and his first memory of his own magic? (He saw the most astonishing Lights! Gold, silver, crystal! Bubbles! Bursting from a fountain! And he knew the Lights were real.)
– Who is Connor? (James’ younger brother and Jesse’s uncle. Connor sailed with James all over Tanagasuq Bay; he is now an actor with the Dana Theater in Boston.)
– Who is Dearie? (Dearie is James’ mother and Jesse’s grandmother. In New York City, 1939, Dearie owned her own Lady Bird Theatre; she died three years ago at Christmas; Jesse has learned many of his “Light Lessons” from his Dearie, a former Irish gypsy, who traveled the world with her husband, Galen, with his photography career; Galen was a war photographer; he died In World War II at the Battle of the Bulge, the final battle of the war.)
– Who is Jane? (James’ beloved wife, Jesse’s mother, who died giving birth to Jesse in 1947. She is also the daughter of Gemma, Jesse’s other grandmother and owner of Windy Hill Farm.)
– What do you learn about Jesse O’Neil?
– Jesse is born in 1947. So, today – 2025- he would be how old? 78! Yes, as old as your grandparents!) Can you think of your grandfather as a little boy?
– Jesse is born an orphan. Do we know other classic book characters who are orphans? (Harry Potter, Mowgli, Cinderella, Anne of green Gables, Peter Pan, Oliver Twist, Heidi, Snow White, Huckleberry Finn)
– Most orphans have a hard life. What kind of life does Jesse have? (Wonderlush, filled with his everyday magic)
– Doesn’t that make you want to know more about his kind of Magic? Look up ‘wonderlush’ in the Glossary of Imaginator Words, here in the website Book Guides.
– What is Jesse’s magic? (Jesse Is the beginning of everything magical. Jesse knows his Light that God gave each of us before we were born. This is our real magic, from God’s magnificent, amazing Light, and his glorious, pure Love. Shining out in Jesse’s turquoise eyes and his smiling face.)
– Where, and with whom does Jesse live now? (Jesse moved from New York City and now lives on an island farm at Windy Hill, with his grandmother, Jane’s mother, Gemma.)
– Jesse has already solved many mysteries in his Becoming Jesse Series. But there are always more!
– What are some of the mysteries he hopes to solve in LIGHT ON? (Two Stolen treasures, a mystifying egg, a curious boy named Nobody, the manipulations of a treacherous bully, an odd, menacing scientist, and, last but not least, his grandmother, Gemma’s husband, who has been missing for over 25 years.)
– What do riddles and puzzles encourage? (Solutions! We want to know the answers!)
– Get ready for Jesse’s new riddles! His new adventures, full of his funny words, like ‘shiverals’ or ‘Diggity-Boo’ (check the glossary in the Book Guides here.) And dive in!