Now by Morris Gleitzman

      This was a unique turn in the book series. In this book, Felix is an old man with a granddaughter named Zelda. She is named after the young girl Felix tried to save and who was brutally murdered by the Nazis. In this book, Felix lives in Australia. His granddaughter loves her grandfather but questions some of the things he does. She doesn’t understand that a part of him is still living in and dealing with a traumatic past. Like her grandfather’s past, Zelda has a bully problem. His pasts experiences and memories help them both. When a brush fire breaks out a lot is lost, while a lot is gained. I found two interesting things about this fire. One was that it was based on an actual fire that occurred in 2009 and the second was that at the time of this post, Australia is going through another traumatic brush fire.  This is the third book in this series. At one point the author had planned to make this the end of a trilogy. As we all know, when our characters are not finished telling their story they must be heard. Because of that, there are three more books in this series. Once again I will say that this is a must-read series.

Then by Morris Gleitzman

Then by Morris Gleitzman
Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Source: Purchased a copy

In the second book in this series Felix has taken Zelda under his wings. He has decided  to help them find a new home and find his parents who he still thinks is alive. He holds on to this hope throughout. Zelda claims she is Jewish even though she isn’t. Her parents were actual Nazi supporters. As Felix and Zelda travel across Poland they witness the horrors of the Nazis. Felix does his best to shield her from a lot of this violence. He tells her stories to take her mind off of any troubles they may run into. As a ten-year-old he seems at times so much older. Zelda is only six and can definitely be annoying. Felix takes it all in stride.  This is the second book in the series and the tension is just beginning to get really taught. I highly recommend this series.

First Post of the New Year: Once by Morris Gleitzman

Last year I didn't come close to hitting my reading goal of 100. I had lowered it a lot. A lot happened last year. We had multiple deaths in our family. We had a lot of changes at school. I have raised my goal to 150 books for 2020. I just need to work harder at my reading. 

This series is one that I am glad I have read. I will give you one review per day. However, it only took me two days to read the entire series. They are short, but powerful. I definitely recommend these books to young and old alike.

Once by Morris Gleitzman

Genre: Middle Grade, YA, Historical Fiction

Source: Purchased

As a teacher I am always trying to find wonderful books for my shelves. This is a whole series based around the Holocaust and its aftermath on people. I definitely recommended it to my students.  Felix is a young Jewish  boy living a hidden life in an orphanage. He believes his parents will be coming for him any day. He has been at the orphanage for three years.  One day the Nazis’s visit the orphanage and find Jewish books which they take to the courtyard to burn. Felix is horrified that they would burn these books. His parents owned a book store. He decides he is going to have to find and save his parents and their books. He prays for help to God, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Pope and Hitler. This gives us an indication that he has no idea what is going on in the world.  Later he adds in the name of his favorite author and removes Hitler’s name. He gets himself and others out of trouble by telling stories. I think it was Felix’s love of books that helped me connect to him. He runs away from the orphanage and rescues a young girl whose parents are killed. It seems to be his mission to help others as he tries to find his parents. This is a wonderful book highly recommended. Be advised that the author does not water down what the Nazis were like or the atrocities they inflicted on others.