Hussein was born in Bulgaria and belongs to the Roma family who came to Bulgari from India many years ago. They are Muslims and they celebrate many holidays with family, such as Ramadan. During Ramadan they do not eat during the day instead, they eat a special meal at night called iftar. On the last day of Ramadan, Hussein's father goes to the mosque and brings Hussein and his little brother candies. Hussein also visits his grandparents, who he loves very much, on holidays. His grandparents always so happy to see Hussein, they hug him, hold him on their laps, and give him candies. Before each holiday, Hussein's mother and grandmother paint their hands with henna and Hussein's father buys new shirts, pants, and shoes for him and his little brother. Hussein loves his name because it means handsome in Arabic and it was his grandfather and great grandfather's name. His family even has a special name for him, Hughsy. Then one day came that changed all of this. The army came and would not allow anyone to leave the village, visit their relatives, or speak in their Romani languages. It was during Ramadan so Hussein was upset that he couldn't visit his grandparents like they usually do. They couldn't even go to the mosque and Hussein's father couldn't buy him new shirts. Then the soldiers came to Hussein's house to order them to report to the mayor's office. When they got to the mayor's office, the policeman tore their identity cards in half and demanded that they all changed their names in order to get new identity cards. No one in the family wanted to change their names, but they had no choice. Hussein changed his name to Harry and everywhere he went, he was called Harry. But at home, he was still called Hughsy.

Hussein would be considered a dynamic character in this story due to his name change. In the beginning, Hussein talked about how much he loved his family traditions. However, towards the end, Hussein's family was no longer able to participate in those family traditions due to the army's orders. The army even went as far as demanding the family change their names to more Christian traditional names. All of this upset Hussein and changed his life because everywhere he went, he was now called by his new name, Harry. I think this definitely changed Hussein's outlook on life, as it would anyone else. You can tell he's bothered by the change due to the question he poses towards readers at the end following him talking about how everyone else now calls him Harry while his family still calls him Hughsy.

This book was definitely an emotional read. It breaks my heart that Hussein's family was forced to conform to Christian values, especially in his own hometown, Bulgaria. It's extremely unfair in so many ways. I appreciated the outlook this book gave me, however, I think this book should be saved for a history lesson to start a discussion and also give the students a glimpse into how these people's lives changed. ( )

This story made me feel every emotion - both heartwarming and heartbreaking. We meet Hussein, a little boy who is of the Muslim faith and very proud of his religion and culture. He shares many traditions with his family and explains the celebration of Ramadan through his eyes as a child. However, after WW2 when communist ruling took over and made life extremely difficult for minorities in other countries, he also showed all the ways he suffered because of his faith. He and his father were no longer allowed to pray at the mosque, to visit their grandparents for Ramadan, and he felt the fear through his parents. He and his family were forced to change their names to Christian names. Hussein became Harry, but did feel like Harry and did not know him. At home, his parents still called him by his childhood nickname. This story stuck with me, I wish it had been longer so that there could have been a happier ending. However, I do not believe that was the purpose it was written for. ( )

In his book Hristo Kyuchukov tells a story about a little boy who had to deal with very strange phenomenon ( forced to change his religion and identity) .The story talks bout a little Muslim boy Hussein , who like to celebrates Ramadan with his family and relatives and live buying the new cloth for the occasion. Later on in the story military personals flooded the city and prevented people from practicing their religious freedom and forced them to change their identities. Even though they had no choice but to do so ,little Harry ( formerly Hussein) wants to keep his name , but is lost in this frantic world. ( )

This is the emotional story of a young boy, Hussein, whose life changed when soldiers entered his village in Bulgaria and take away the rights of all the Muslims living there. Many restrictions were suddenly placed on his family and many other citizens in his village. They are no longer able to attend mosque, travel outside at night, or keep their names. Hussein eventually is forced to change his name to Harry. We emphasize with Hussein as he struggles to adjust and the illustrations correspond well to those feelings. ( )

I gave this book 5 stars because of the reaction it gave my children. They just couldn’t believe a 9 year old boy would be forced to change his name. I asked them how that would make them feel, if they had to change their names. They replied with “Weird” and “Confused.” My son noticed that one illustration showed soldiers refusing Muslims into their mosques, which lead us into a discussion of what a mosque, a temple, a synagogue, and a church is. It was a relatable story allowing my children to feel empathy for the main character as he and his family are discriminated against. ( )