Once
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5.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Winner - Australian Book Industry Awards 2011
Winner - YABBA Children's Choice Awards 2007
Winner - KOALA Children's Choice Awards 2007
Honour Award - CBC Book of the Year 2006
Honour Award - Sydney Taylor (Jewish) Award 2011
'Haunting . . . dangerous and desperate, but also full of courage and hope.' The Guardian
Once I escaped from an orphanage to find my Mum and Dad.
Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.
Once I made a Nazi with toothache laugh.
My name is Felix.
This is my story.
The powerful and moving story of a young boy named Felix who, during the Holocaust, tries to survive and make sense of the world around him. Told with humour and heart, this book offers a unique perspective on one of the darkest chapters in human history and serves as a reminder of the resilience and hope that can be found even in the most dire of circumstances.
*The reference at the end of the book to readers' notes refers to the teachers' notes which can be found at our Education Centre.
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'Tension builds swiftly in this wrenching tale . . . poignant.' Publishers Weekly, starred review
'Extols the power of storytelling in the face of tragedy.' The Horn Book, starred review
'Brilliant in its realism.' Kirkus Reviews, starred review
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Other books in the series:
Once
Then
Now
After
Soon
Maybe
Always
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Tension builds swiftly in this wrenching tale as Felix, a preteen Polish Jew, narrates his experience of Holocaust atrocities, framed by a search for his parents that begins when he escapes from a Catholic orphanage. A natural storyteller, Felix begins each chapter with a formulaic prelude: Once I was living in a cellar in a Nazi city with seven other children, before chronicling events in which his narrative gifts provide comfort and courage to himself and others in increasingly bleak circumstances. After finding his home occupied by hostile neighbors, Felix witnesses pointless murders on a forced march. Gleitzman (Toad Rage) allows readers to draw conclusions before Felix does (he thinks a book burning is being conducted by professional librarians in professional librarian armbands ), making poignant Felix's gradual loss of innocence when he realizes that Hitler is not a protector but the boss of the Nazis, and when he finally accepts his parents' deaths. The humorous dimension of Felix's narration provides welcome relief, while courageous acts of kindness by Catholic nuns, a German neighbor, and a Jewish dentist lend this tragedy universality. Ages 12 up.
