Once by Morris Gleitzman. 192 p. Square Fish/ Macmillan, 2005. (Own)
#tbt features Once by Morris Gleitzman. This is the first book of the Felix and Zelda series and was published in 2005. Yesterday, in "Waiting on Wednesday," I featured Always, which will be the final book in the seven-book series. What makes Once special is the voice. Felix is a naive narrator, which makes his story all the more heartbreaking. Also, each chapter begins with the word, "Once."
Felix believes he is staying with nuns in a convent high up in the mountains because his book store-owning parents are away at a convention, though he has been there for over three years. He decides to go and look for them and leaves the convent just as the Nazis are raiding it, for the nuns have been hiding Jewish children. Soon after, he finds an unconscious young girl named Zelda in a burning building and rescues her. The two become friends and traveling companions.
The story is a work of fiction loosely based on the story of Janusz Korczak. You can read more about Mr. Gleitzman's inspiration on his website. The publication of Then followed in 2009, followed by Now in 2010. Now takes place in contemporary Australia and is about Felix and his granddaughter. After, Soon and Maybe were published in 2012, 2015, and 2017. I had to order the last three books and most likely, After, directly from an independent bookstore in Australia.
I have had great success book talking this title. Most students give it a try and return asking for the next book. I've had quite a few students read the entire series.
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