About this Book

Mystery
surrounds the young peasant boy known as Big John. Raised during the
strife-filled days of the reign of King John of England, his life is one
day changed when a knight says, in passing, “You remind me of
someone—someone I once knew and loved.” It is from “Old Marm,” the herb
woman, that John understands that injustice has been done his family.
Though never telling him the family name lest he unwittingly betray
himself, she does all she can to prepare him to one day reclaim his name
and family honor. Then Old Marm dies, and John is left without a clue
to his identity. In the next years John’s unusual size and
strength and the knowledge he has gained of letters and of the art of
healing earn him a place as page to an earl organizing the 5th Crusade.
In the Holy Land John searches for a father he hopes is living still.
Amidst battle, capture and setbacks, John—now a squire to a Knight
Hospitaller—encounters Francis of Assisi, who had come to the Holy Land
just at this time to preach the Gospel to the Saracens. It is another
meeting that changes the course of Big John’s life. .
     Illustrated by Frederick T. Chapman.