Once And Then

Once #1-2

by Morris Gleitzman

Morris Gleitzman's two best-selling novels in one volume for the first time. My name is Felix Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house I had a plan for both of us Pretend to be someone else Be safe forever Then the Nazis came 'Haunting . . . dangerous and desperate, full of courage and hope' GUARDIAN

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Young Adult, World War II, War, Holocaust

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2009

About the author

Morris began his writing career as a screenwriter, and wrote his first children's novel in 1985. His brilliantly comic style has endeared him to children and adults alike, and he is now one of Australia's most successful authors, both internationally and at home. He was born in England in 1953 and emigrated to Australia in 1969 so he could escape from school and become a Very Famous Writer.

Before realising that dream, he had a colourful career as paperboy, bottle-shop shelf-stacker, department store Santa Claus, frozen chicken defroster, fashion-design assistant and sugar-mill employee. In between he managed to gain a degree in Professional Writing at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. Later he became sole writer for three award-winning and top-rating seasons with the TV comedy series The Norman Gunston Show.

Morris wrote a number of feature film and telemovie screenplays, including The Other Facts of Life and Second Childhood, both produced by The Australian Children's Television Foundation. The Other Facts of Life won an AWGIE Award for the Best Original Children's Film Script.

He also wrote live stage material for people such as Rolf Harris, Pamela Stephenson and the Governor General of Australia. Morris is well known to many people through his semi-autobiographical columns in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald magazine, Good Weekend, which he wrote for nine years.

But the majority of Morris' accolades are for his hugely popular children's books. One of his most successful books for young people is Two Weeks with the Queen, an international bestseller which was also adapted into a play by Mary Morris. The play had many successful seasons in Australia and was then produced at the National Theatre in London in 1995 directed by Alan Ayckbourn, and also in South Africa, Canada, Japan and the USA.

All his other books have been shortlisted for or have won numerous children's book prizes. These include The Other Facts of Life, Second Childhood, Misery Guts, Worry Warts, Puppy Fat, Blabber Mouth, Sticky Beak, Belly Flop, Water Wings, Bumface, Gift Of The Gab, Toad Rage, Wicked! and Deadly!, two six-part novels written in collaboration with Paul Jennings, Adults Only, Toad Heaven, Boy Overboard, Teacher's Pet, Toad Away, Girl Underground, Worm Story, Once, Aristotle's Nostril, Doubting Thomas, Give Peas A Chance, Then, Toad Surprise, Grace, Now, Too Small To Fail, and his latest book, Pizza Cake. Morris' children's books have been published in the UK, the USA, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia and Czechoslovakia, Russia and China.

Reviews

[Jayne Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know that feeling when you get a book home from the bookshop and start reading it, and you realise it probably is a children’s book that was shelved in the adult section because the prose is really very childlike. And you read it even though the main character seems to remain in denial about what is going on around him for way too long, and you tell yourself OK, it’s because he’s a child and a child can’t cope with evil on that grand a scale. And you read the whole thing practically in one sitting and it really does turn out to be a good book, and when you finish it you are sitting on a bench on the quay and you are quite glad it’s started to rain because the old couple sat at the other end of the bench hopefully won’t notice there are tears running down your face. Then you stay sitting down for ages watching the boats and thinking about what you’ve read and feeling glad for the times we are living in.

Well that’s how I’m feeling now

[Ike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Еднаш и тогаш - Морис Глицман (Сакам книги)

ЕДНАШ прочитав книга со тема од Втората светска војна.
ТОГАШ книги со историска тематика ми станаа омилени.

Сите сме прочитале многу книги за периодот од Втората светска војна, од перспектива на Евреи, од перспектива на Католици, од перспектива на Православни, од перспектива на народ од страна на нацистите, од перспектива на поробен народ.... Но како изгледа една приказна раскажана од 10 годишно дете Еврејче, Феликс, скриено во сиропиталиште на Католици кое ќе избега за да ги бара родителите и ќе заврши кај Полјакиња која ќе ги “присвои” него и неговата пријателка Зелда(6 години), ќерка на нацисти?
Феликс има МНОГУ бујна фантазија, дете е на сопственици на книжарница и цел живот бил опкружен од книги. Има свој омилен серијал, лик и писател кој многупати ќе му се најде во многуте неволји во кои ќе западне....
Секоја чест на сите не Евреи кои криеле и помагале Евреи, колку храбри и пожртвувани луѓе биле 😕.

Нема да пишувам повеќе, ќе ве оставам сами да влезете во нивната приказна, да ја погледнете војната и луѓето со нивните очи. Јас уживав иако можете и да претпоставите дека тематиката не е ни најмалку за уживање, за жал.

Од мене 5ка препорака не само за љубителите на историскиот жанр туку и до сите други, нема да останете рамнодушни, никако.

[Emilija Topalzoleva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay... I have a confession to make...

I have a WEAKNESS for stories about children in WWII. I don't even know what more to say about this book. That's it. In my dictionary when children and WWII are in the same sentence, they make a wonderful book.

I love Felix and I adore Zelda. They are so young and so naive and so smart. I can imagine both of them in my head. A kind Jewish boy, a talented storyteller, a boy with big heart. And on the other side a troubled and stubborn girl, with even bigger heart.

I love when the book can capture all the things that happen in the perfect way, so I have the image in my head. I felt this book. I saw every gun, harassment, pain, dead, hug, love, hope. I saw everything and I felt it. That's what I need from the book.

Highly recommending this book!

And "Don't you know anything?" are officially my new most used words.

[Matthew White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I read a book, about a young Jewish boy named Felix who had to escape the Nazis. He escaped an orphanage, and journeys through the Polish countryside. Then, he ends up hiding for his life, on trains to certain death and running from the Nazis.

The book has a writing style that younger readers can pick-up, and older readers can still enjoy. However, the book is written through the perspective of Felix, and it shows his opinions on his surroundings. Not knowing what happened to his family, Felix has many misconceptions about where they have gone. This means that younger readers will have the ‘full experience,’ as they may not know what is happening either.

The two key themes are innocence and friendship, as Felix doesn’t know what is happening and that he meets new people and friends throughout is journey.

Overall, I’d give Once & Then a 9/10 because whilst it’s a great read, some moments are so irritating because of the innocence of Felix; he makes so many decisions that I wish I could come in and tell him are a really bad idea.

[Citatelkatami · Rating 4 out of 5]

:(

[Stefani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nooooo......

a very good first read to kick the year off. Historical fiction about World War II told from a kid´s perspective...and I definitely like reading such books.

Felix is a little hero, I wanted to hug him and tell him the war will be over. And Zelda....Moved to tears, such a smart smart girl and she´s only 6 years old. Don´t you know anything? :)

I've already ordered the next book and I'll read it as soon as it arrives.

[Karen Aitkenhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters are believable and the story weaves you through a trail of heartache and then jubilation to only confront heartache again . Believable , this historical fiction is easy to read but confronting to the senses and emotions .

[Fai · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bildungsroman of a young Jewish boy in search of a family during the tragedy of WWII. The writing was immensely childish at the start; of an ignorant boy oblivious and in denial of the cruel world in which he lived in. However, as the story progressed on, Felix grows more aware- gaining emotions no 10 year old boy should ever obtain. Although ‘Once and Then’ ideally seems like a replica of ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’, we view the atrocities of Hitler and the Nazis through the eyes of a suffering and victimised boy, all due to his religious beliefs. No book makes me more sad than this one, as you read of strifes and inhumane treatments the mere children of that society and generation had to go through, nothing is able to disgust you more. And be aware of whatever Felix and Zelda go through in the novel, is barely scratching the surface of the filthy and horrendous acts the Nazis carried out. This book should be used to educate the youth of today- not to cause hatred of the Germans but learn the cost of prejudice, regardless of religion, colour, ect. But to also sympathise those who suffered the most during Hitlers ruling.
(Sorry for the essay)

[Cécile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnifique livre sur la seconde guerre mondiale.
Mix entre le film "la vie est belle" et le livre "l'enfant au pyjama rayé", "Un Jour" nous raconte l'histoire de Felix, garçon polonais de 10 ans qui s'enfuit de son orphelinat pour retrouver ses parents et qui se retrouve plongé dans l'horreur de la guerre.
Nous suivons donc les aventures de ce garçon qui déborde d'humour et d'imagination.
Si les histoires qu'il raconte et qu'il se raconte montrent, au début, sa naïveté d'enfant, on assiste tout au long du livre, à la mort de son enfance. Car Felix comprend peu à peu ce qu'il se passe autour de lui et il assiste à des horreurs qui le feront grandir bien vite mais qui ne l'empêcheront pas de rester optimiste et drôle.
Je me suis vraiment beaucoup attachée à lui, à Zelda et ses "t'es bête ou quoi ?", et autres personnes qui vont croiser le chemin de nos héros.
C'est un récit poignant qui nous fait passer des rires aux larmes en l'espace d'un paragraphe.
Je ne peux que le recommander.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a confronting book for young adults with the perspective of the horrors of the holocaust from a child's point of view. Really glad I had both books in one as it was a real page turner. A great read for boys 12+ and perhaps Yr 5 & 6

[SecretSquirrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a parent please be careful whom you choose to give this book to. I am an adult and there are graphic and traumatic scenes. I do not believe this is for a sensitive reader. I was going to give it to my daughter but I’ve since decided not to. I strongly encourage you to read this yourself first.

[Anna ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book persuaded me to read the rest of the series. It’s about a boy called Felix and it’s based on his experience in the times when Hitler was alive.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un poquito de ternura, inocencia y llorera, en ese orden.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking story about the WWII 🥺🥺😭😭 nobody, especially not a child deserves to go through that 😥

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Ohh. My. God. Once finished I just wanted to re-read it again it was that good. The ending was so sad and really pulled at my heart. The love between the two children and Genia was beautiful. Written through the eyes of a 10 year old boy, this is easily one of my favourite holocaust novels.

Re-read Update.
This book just blows my mind. The emotions after that ending!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Now that I have the rest of this series I'm reading them all to see how the series ends. This is just 5 stars the whole way through.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very moving and powerful. The venue used give a better feeling of the holocaust because numbers lose meaning, but one person's story gives a greater impact. He maintained the feeling of a young boy throughout the narrative.

[Fiona Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story that is very sad with some horrific scenes. Couldn't put it down

[ALPHAreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review contains SPOILERS of the third book, 'Now'

Felix is hiding. His parents left him at a convent with other orphans, and then they fled. Because Felix is Jewish, and it’s not a very good time to be Jewish at the moment, what with the war and all.

When Felix receives a sign (in the form of a whole carrot) he is sure it means his parents are returning for him. So he takes his beloved notebook, full of fanciful stories, and he leaves the convent to go in search of his parents.

Along the way he sees the truth of the war. He watches people marching, and soldiers fighting. He comes across a burnt down farmhouse, and finds Zelda – a young girl whose parents have been killed. Felix takes Zelda with him, in search of his parents, and on the promise that they’ll find Zelda’s… even though Felix knows that’s not possible. And the more they wander, the more Felix dreads finding out what really happened to his parents…

Morris Gleitzman’s ‘Once’ trilogy began in 2005, and was followed by ‘Then’ and ‘Now’. In 2012 the trilogy will be expanding, with one more book called ‘After’.

1.5 million Jewish children died in the Holocaust. Morris Gleitzman’s Jewish grandfather lived in Poland, but fled the country before the war. But his extended family perished in the Holocaust. Felix and Zelda are not real, but in writing ‘Once’ Gleitzman was inspired by true events and real-life heroes.

‘Once’ begins with Felix at an orphanage. He knows he is hiding amongst Catholics because he is Jewish, and for some reason Hitler doesn’t like Jews. But Felix has no comprehension of the true scope of the war, or of how Hitler’s Europe has turned against the Jewish people. It’s only when he interprets a carrot miracle and decides to leave the convent in search of his parents that Felix sees the truth of what the world has become.

Along the way he finds Zelda, a young girl who Felix discovers lying beside her dead parents in the midst of a burnt-down farmhouse. Together they escape Nazis, hide in a dentist’s basement and form a bond of friendship in the midst of war.

Throughut the first two books, ‘Once’ and ‘Then’, Felix and Zelda are searching for their parents. They meet characters along the way, and stumble into situations that have them uncovering the truth of this war, and how it’s impacting Jews;

We pause at the edge of the trees and squint down into the next valley. My glasses are smudged.
I take them off and polish them on my shirt.
Zelda gives a terrified squeak, and grabs me and points.
I put my glasses back on and peer down at what she's seen.
Zelda isn't pointing at a distant house belonging to a kind cook, because there aren't any houses.
She's pointing at something much closer.
A big hole in the hillside. A sort of pit, with piles of freshly dug earth next to it. Lying in the hole, tangled up together, are children. Lots of them.
All different ages. Some older than me, some even younger than Zelda.
'What are those children doing?' says Zelda in a worried voice.
'I don't know,' I say.
I'm feeling worried too.
They look like Jewish children. I can tell because they're all wearing white armbands with a blue blob that I'm pretty sure is a Jewish star.
Trembling, I give my glasses another clean.
'This wasn't in your story,' whispers Zelda.
She's right, it wasn't.
The children aren't moving.
They're dead.
- Then

Gleitzman’s ‘Once’ series has become hugely popular, both in Australia and overseas. The books have even been named in the prestigious Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Teen Readers. This series really is amazing… Gleitzman is looking at the Holocaust from a child’s perspective, and it’s made all the more horrifying and heartbreaking for Felix and Zelda’s naiveté and innocence.

The story is also brilliant for the secondary characters Gleitzman peppers throughout. A few seem to be inspired by real heroes of WWII, like Janusz Korczak who was a Polish-Jewish doctor and children’s author that helped run an orphanage for Jewish children, and ended up perishing along with them when they were taken to a concentration camp. In Gletizman’s book there’s a friendly Jewish dentist, who hides children in his basement and tends to the teeth of Nazi soldiers.

As an older reader you experience the horrors of war creeping into Felix’s reality slowly, bit by bit and with a gut-churning inevitability that you wish you could stop… It’s utterly horrendous. But the Holocaust is something that should always be remembered and taught to younger generations, and Gleitzman’s ‘Once’ series is incredibly accessible for young readers (10+), while never once refraining from the impacts of death or the gravitas of war and genocide.

First two books, ‘Once’ and ‘Then’, are set in Europe and concentrate on Felix and Zelda’s time hiding from the Nazis. ‘Now’ leaps ahead to Victoria, Australia in February 2009, and introduces us to a different Zelda… Felix’s granddaughter, named for his old friend.

February 7th 2009 is a date synonymous with death and destruction – the setting of the Black Saturday bushfires that claimed 173 lives.

When we meet her, Zelda is staying with her grandfather while her doctor parents are overseas on a mission. She is struggling to fit in the small country town, and struggling even more with the weight of her name. She has heard stories about Zelda, her grandfather’s brave friend who died during the war… she has always felt like she will never live up to her grandfather’s memory of the dead girl, or be as heroic as young Zelda was.

I turn back to the car. Felix is sitting there. I've never seen him look so miserable.
I get back in the car.
‘I’m not her,’ I say.
We sit looking at each other and I can see Felix is having a really big struggle deciding what to do.
‘Poor Zelda was killed,’ I say. ‘But that doesn’t mean I will be.’
Felix looks at me some more.
He looks at the bus.
He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can the bus drives away.
‘Anyway,’ I say. ‘There’s too much leaving in our family and not enough staying.’
- Now

When the day heats up and black clouds loom, Zelda and her grandfather find themselves in a fight for their lives.

I did read the ‘Once’ trilogy thinking it would not finish with ‘Now’. In the third book Zelda learns a few more stories of her grandfather’s time during the Holocaust, one of them being how he joined the Russian resistance in 1944 with his friend, Gabriek… So I was not surprised to learn of ‘After’, a fourth book to be released in 2012.

The ‘Once’ series is truly amazing and heartbreaking. Morris Gleitzman is writing about a horrific moment in human history – but it is vital that new generations know about this past, so that it may never happen again. The ‘Once’ books bring the Holocaust to terrifying life, as told through the eyes of young Felix and later realized by his granddaughter, Zelda. These books are vital reading, and I cannot recommend them enough.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since my grandmother passed away I’ve become more interested in both WWI and WWII. Knowing that my father was born almost exactly 4 years after the end of World War II makes me wonder how different things might have turned out if he had been alive during the war. I know only a few stories from my grandmother before she died of her experience as a child being evacuated and living on rations during the First World War. I am grateful that despite all the hate and violence in our world today, I currently am living in a safe area with shelter and plenty of modern comforts. The more I learn about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, the more it hurts my soul. How can humans be so horrible to other humans? To have read this, and consider what it might have been like, to be a Jewish child while the Nazis were in power, was a brand new perspective for me; haunting and chilling.

[Michelle Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel based on a real person
(2018 bookshelf goal)

Maybe you've seen the footage on Facebook of the man who ran a Jewish orphanage during the Holocaust but would not leave the kids. He was given many chances to leave them so he could live and even at the very very end, he would not leave them and died because of it. He's a real hero. (If you have not, look it up...very touching.) This man was what prompted this book.

But oddly the book is only partially about him. The book is more about a boy.

It will rip your heart out though. So come prepared with some hankies.

It's beautifully told and it will sit in your memory for a long time. I know it has in mine.

[Wendee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this in the bookshop and couldn't leave it behind. It called to be read. And wow it did not disappoint, I finished within 2 days.
There was a point when I thought it was a children's book, shelved wrongly. A time when I thought why hasn't anyone told Felix what is happening. But then it all becomes clear.
An amazing read for any adult who wants to journey with Felix, to feel the pain and joys of his life during a terrible time.

[Eloise Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book - even though I was crying my eyes out when it finished. WHY DID IT HAVE TO END LIKE THAT?! WHY ME, MORRIS GLEITZMAN??
Apart from the crying bit, it was very lovely, but still heartbreaking, reading about the lives of FREAKING CHILDREN in the World War II. It had the essence of love, hurt and tragedy. In short: Amazing. Distressing. Amazing. Distressing.
Now I can't even make up my mind. Anyway, I believe it was a good book.

[Наташа Алексовска]

Родители на Феликс ќе го остават во католичко сиропиталиште. По 3 год. Феликс ќе замине во потрага по родители. Тогаш, животот од корен ќе му се промени. Низ какви пречки ќе помине Феликс? Дали момче од 10 год. е сосем доволно подготвено, преку ноќ да стане возрасен човек, да размислува и донесува мудро одлуки, коишто му значат во животот?

[Yvette Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Jewish boy in a Polish orphanage is sure his parents are returning for him. But the Nazis come so he's on the run. I found the 10yo narrator too annoying and naive, but the story itself was good. And there was no corny ending.

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seemed like one of those books where the author has no real idea of what being a child feels like? Or else Felix was just extremely stupid.
About halfway through the second book, it got better and probably closer to what a 9/10-year-old actually thinks like.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once and Then is an amazing series of books about... well, I won’t spoil anything. I loved these books and they are my top series. You should definitely read these, they will give you an all new perspective. I recommend them highly!

[lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely amazing. I want to read it over and over and over again. It made me cry and laugh and always had me on the edge of my seat. If I could give it 6 stars I would! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. The ending is also super sad

[Samantha Bourne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was still in primary school. I don't remember the story or characters well but I still remember it being on of my favourite books and I get that fuzzy feeling in my chest when I think about it

[Ebony Rickerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really getting into this text and enjoying the well written book. I love the way Morris writes and will be looking into purchasing more books from him in the future. Overall, the first two books are really enjoyable, all be it a little sad it is an amazing series so far.

[Grid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in sixth grade. In a private Christian school. It was a nice narrative, I remember feeling.

One particular memory stands out; some sub went around the desks and pointed out, head by head, who would survive the holocaust. They just be letting anyone teach in this ho