What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I'm looking for a childrens book written in the 70's.,
the child in the book was a boy with no first name, his father wanted him to choose it himself.
I believed they either called him "boy" or "son".

Picture book?
Author female or male?
Cover?
Style of illustrations?
How old is the boy?

Lobstergirl wrote: "Picture book?
Author female or male?
Cover?
Style of illustrations?
How old is the boy?"


It's not a picture book - maybe considered a young adult book? though in the 70's I'm not so sure that was a term.
I was maybe 10 or 12 when I read it.

I searched: children's book, "boy" "choose his own name" and this one came up:
The Least One by Borden Deal (originally published in 1967)
The story is told through the voice of a twelve-year-old, significantly called Boy Sword, and is set in a fictitious community that suggests the area of Cullman, Alabama. Deal portrays the realities of cotton-field work: planting, chopping, the laying-by time, and harvesting. He succeeds in evoking not only the crushing economic circumstances of poor Southern whites in that period but also their fierce sense of independence and self-sufficiency.

Readers' comments:
-Both the father, and "Boy" have reasons why each refuses to give "Boy" his name, those reasons expand some in the telling of the story and figure into the final climax
- Unique twist of 'Boy' not having a name and the father leaving 'Boy' to choose his own name, and the chosen name being woven into the story.

Mai wrote: "I searched: children's book, "boy" "choose his own name" and this one came up:
The Least One by Borden Deal (originally published in 1967)
The story is told through t..."

thats it!, I can't believe you found it. thank you!

I'm glad this is your book! :-) Thankfully the detail about him choosing his own name was unique!