Big Jabe (PB) (2003)

Multiple starred reviews greeted this beautiful picture book with art from Caldecott Medalist Kadir Nelson. This tall tale about a boy who grows to become a hero during slavery times can be shared at home or in the classroom.

When a young slave named Addy goes fishing one spring day, she doesn't catch any fish. Instead, she finds a little boy in a basket floating in the river.

Jabe is no ordinary boy: in a few short months, he grows to be a big, strong man with the strength of fifty. He can pick an entire field of cotton by himself in just one night and day. When slaves begin to miraculously disappear from the Plenty Plantation, Addy knows in her heart that Jabe is the reason why...

Big Jabe allows readers to confront an unbearable history and come away with hope." (Publishers Weekly starred review)

Folklore and history give an uncommonly rich patina to this freshly inspiring tale set in slavery times. (School Library Journal starred review)

Part magical savior, part tall-tale hero, Big Jabe personifies the tri-umph of African Americans who (miraculously it must sometimes have seemed) escaped from slavery. (Horn Book starred review)

Kadir Nelson's acclaimed books include The Undefeated, winner of the Caldecott Medal as the most distinguished picture book of the year, Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom.