A Sufi teaching tale of a boy without a name who visits a wise man and acquires both a name and a wonderful dream. K-Gr 2-Ostensibly based on a Sufi legend, this story concerns a boy whose parents are instructed not to name him when he is born. A wise man tells them, "This is a very, very important boy-and I am going to give him something marvelous one day, but I will have to give him his name first." After some years, the youngster goes with his friend Anwar to see the wise man, with the hope that he can exchange an unwanted dream for a name. The wise man selects the name Husni out of a magic box and gives it to the boy, who then puts his unwanted dream in another box. Then the two friends each take a turn choosing from a third box, which is full of wonderful dreams. "And after that, forever and ever, Husni had a name-and the two boys-always had wonderful dreams." End of story. The point of this narrative is, at best, elusive. What is so important about the nameless boy? What are readers to make of the boxes of names and dreams? The lively and colorful artwork evokes the Middle Eastern setting, but doesn't help to answer these questions. Perhaps an extensive study of Sufism would enhance readers' understanding, but it is doubtful that this book on its own will make much sense to children or the adults who read it to them.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Ages 4-7. Nameless has grown up, well . . . nameless, owing to a wise man's visit on the day of his birth. He asks his friend Anwar for a name, but Anwar only has one name, and he can't afford to give it away. When the boys visit the wise man, he opens a magic box full of names, and one, "Husni," creeps into the nameless boy's ears. Anwar gets a gift, too: the wise man opens a box full of dreams, which enter both boys' ears giving them sweet dreams. The book is based on a great Islamic mystic's birth story, but the religious significance is set aside in favor of a broader message of peace and happiness. Unfortunately, the story fails to inform children why Husni remained Nameless for so long, and the illustrations lack the energy of Shah's telling. Even so, this is a satisfying bedtime story that will encourage pleasant dreams to drift into little ears. John Green Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Enjoy ... new bright collections featuring different illustrators ... fine stories!" -- REVIEWER'S CHOICE, The Children's Bookwatch "My kids ask for these stories over and over. They have a depth not normally seen in children's literature." -- Charles Swencionis, Ph.D., Director, Health Psychology Program Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Albert Einstein School of Medicine "These stories ... help in the development of children's cognitive abilities." -- Robert Ornstein, Ph.D. Beautifully illustrated in stunning color, this award-winning series of large-format children's books by Idries Shah presents tales from a rich tradition of storytelling. All books were well reviewed and one received a National Parenting Publications Honors Award. For thousands of years all over the Middle East and Central Asia children have been entertained and taught by these stories and have continued to tell them in adult life. Until his death in 1996, Shah collected hundreds of such stories and adapted them to contemporary Western culture. His adult books continue to attract millions of readers from all over the world. Sufi tradition affirms that there is a continuum of the children's story, the entertainment story, and the teaching story. A story can help young children deal with difficult situations and give them something to hold on to. Adults can at the same time understand it on a more spiritual level. Through repeated readings of this rich body of oral and written material both children and adults can now learn to develop the capacity to be more flexible, as well as get fresh insights into many things about themselves and about life. A small boy seeks and eventually finds his own name and is able to discard an old dream for a new and wonderful one. This is one of a series of illustrated books for the young written by Idries Shah, whose collections of narratives and teaching stories have captivated the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life. It belongs to a tradition of storytelling from the Middle East and Central Asia that is more than a thousand years old. Among the many insights that this story introduces to children is the idea that it takes patience and resolve to achieve one's goals in life. For more than 30 years Idries Shah collected such Sufi teaching stories from oral and written sources and made them available to Western readers. Selected for their relevance to our Western workd, they present an outstanding body of literature that continues to delight, entertain and, at the same time, teach people of all ages. Mona Caron is an award-winning mura