Once (novel)

Once

Author	Morris Gleitzman
Language	English
Series	Once Trilogy
Publisher	Puffin
Publication date	(Au)-2005 (En/Ir)-2006
Publication place	Australia
Pages	150
Followed by	Then

Once is a 2005 children's novel by Australian author called Morris Gleitzman. It is about a Jewish boy named Felix, who lived in Poland. Although Once is a work of fiction, Gleitzman was inspired by the events of World War II and Hitler's attempt to destroy the Jewish population of Europe. The book's sequel Then continues immediately at the conclusion of Once

Plot Overview

In 1943, Felix escapes from a Catholic orphanage in Poland in order to find his parents. Along the way, he meets Zelda, a girl who was orphaned by the Nazis, and they go to the city together to seek their parents.Along the way meeting people who share a story.

Plot summary

A nine-year-old Jewish boy named Felix escapes from a catholic orphanage in the mountains of Poland, thinking his parents are ready to take him home after finding a whole carrot, his favorite vegetable, in his soup. His parents sent him to the orphanage so they could fix their book store. He sees the Nazis burning a huge pile of the orphanage's Jewish books and thinks that they will do it to his parents' book store. He goes to the town he lived in when he was younger and sees that no-one was in the town. A mysterious man tells him that all the Jews have gone to the city. On his way to the city he sees a burning house and finds that two adults and a few chickens are dead. He suddenly sees a little girl who is unconscious and rescues her. When she awakes she keeps on crying for her mother and father. Felix carries the girl (whose name turns out to be Zelda) to the city with many other Jews and sees that they are being killed on the way. When he gets to the city the Nazis are shooting adults and putting children into a truck. A man called Barney saves a few of the children and keeps them in the cellar of a printing room. Felix later finds out that Adolf Hitler was behind the killing of the Jews. (He had learned that Adolf Hitler was a great man when he was at the orphanage.) Zelda gets a bad fever and Barney and Felix look around empty apartments for aspirin. Felix finds a big jar of aspirin, a story book titled Just William and a carrot for Zelda. He runs into a Nazi soldier who just looks at the book and Zelda's locket that Felix is wearing. Before Felix reaches it, the Nazis find the cellar and the children in it. Barney and all the children (including Felix and Zelda) get sent onto a train that will take them to a 'death camp'. But when Felix knocks a plank out of the carriage, he gets an idea. So he tells some men to break of a couple more planks off. Felix, Zelda and a girl called Chaya escape. Chaya gets shot and the other two survive. Barney and the others stay on the train to "DEATH CAMP".

External links

• Introductory chapter from Once at morrisgleitzman.com