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  • Once by Morris Gleitzman book cover
  • Once by Morris Gleitzman book cover
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Once

by Morris Gleitzman

A child’s understanding of wartime danger

$12.76 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

A child’s understanding of wartime danger

Set in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1942, the novel places Felix, a Jewish boy sheltered in a Catholic orphanage, on a journey to find his parents. He interprets the frightening events around him through the stories he tells himself, while the danger he encounters brings him closer to realities his explanations cannot contain. The contrast between a child’s limited understanding and the historical violence surrounding him shapes the book’s treatment of hope, family, and friendship. Humor is also part of the description’s portrait of Felix’s experience.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in historical fiction about the Holocaust.
  • Readers seeking a story centered on a child’s wartime journey and his hopes for his family.

Themes

Childhood and warFamily and hopeFriendshipStorytelling as a way of interpreting events

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Felix, a Jewish boy in Poland in 1942, is hiding from the Nazis in a Catholic orphanage. The only problem is that he doesn't know anything about the war, and thinks he's only in the orphanage while his parents travel and try to salvage their bookselling business. And when he thinks his parents are in danger, Felix sets off to warn them--straight into the heart of Nazi-occupied Poland. To Felix, everything is a story: Why did he get a whole carrot in his soup? It must be sign that his parents are coming to get him. Why are the Nazis burning books? They must be foreign librarians sent to clean out the orphanage's outdated library. But as Felix's journey gets increasingly dangerous, he begins to see horrors that not even stories can explain.
Despite his grim suroundings, Felix never loses hope. Morris Gleitzman takes a painful subject and expertly turns it into a story filled with love, friendship, and even humor.

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