The Boy Without a Name

              The Boy Without a Name is a children's book written by Idries Shah. He was originally from India. His cultural background can be depicted in the illustrations. The illustrations were done by Mona Caron. This book is about a young boy who was not named when he was born. An old wise man told his parents not to name him because he was important and the man was supposed to name him. When the boy grew up he went to visit the wise man to find out what his name was. The wise man had magic boxes. The boy received the name Husni. The wise man also gave him a new dream. The book ends with the boy very happy and dreaming wonderful dreams.
               This book is a fictional picture book. The characters are realistic but have things happen to them that are fantasy. The story takes place in a real world but when the boy visits the wise man with magic box that is a fantasy. The illustrations are full of vibrant colors. Most of them are realistic but some have the magical effects. The book had English text and Spanish text. I think this book would be great for English Language Learners in the classroom.

Discussion Questions:

• Why do you think he didn't have a name?
• Why do you think he is so important to the wise man?
• How old do you think he will be when he gets a name?
• How do you think you would feel if you didn't have a name?
• Why do you think they sit on cushions instead of chairs at the wise mans house?
• What language do you think the names are written in?
• What is the significance of the boys receiving dreams?

Activities:

• For older grades, have students write about a wonderful dream that they've had. Build onto activity by having them draw and color a picture.
• For younger grades, have students complete a beginning, middle, and end worksheet by having them paste parts of the story in order on the worksheet.

Other books by this author: 

• The Silly Chicken
• The Old Woman and the Eagle
• Neem the Half-boy
• The Man with Bad Manners

Reference

Shah, I. (2007).  The Boy Without a Name. United States: Hoopoe Books.