Download Discussion Guide for Morris Gleitzman's Novel 'Once' for Middle Grade Readers and more Study notes Business Accounting in PDF only on Docsity!
Discussion Guide
Once
by Morris Gleitzman
Grade Level: 7 th^ grade and up
Once is a novel by Morris Gleitzman, set during World
War II. It is followed byThen andNow. Discussion
guides are available for each title, available from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. Note that this guide contains references to plot lines that may spoil the first reading of this book. by Morris Gleitzman Ages 12 and up Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-9026- Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-312-65304-
Introduction:
Once I was living in an orphanage in the mountains and I shouldn’t have been and I almost caused a riot. It was because of the carrot.
So begins the story of ten-year-old Felix, a Jewish boy in Poland in 1942, hiding from the Nazis in a Catholic orphanage. The only problem is that he doesn’t know anything about the war; he believes he’s in the orphanage only while his parents travel and try to salvage their bookselling business. And when he thinks his parents are in danger, Felix sets off to warn them—straight into the heart of Nazi-occupied Poland.
To Felix, everything is a story: Why did he get a whole carrot in his soup? It must be a sign that his parents are coming to get him. Why are the Nazis burning books? They must be foreign librarians sent to clean up the orphanage’s outdated library. But as Felix’s journey gets increasingly dangerous, he begins to see horrors that not even stories can explain.
Despite his grim surroundings, Felix never loses hope. Morris Gleitzman takes a painful subject and expertly turns it into a story filled with love, friendship, and even humor.
Discussion Questions:
Chapter 1 (page 1) “Once I was living in an orphanage in the mountains and I shouldn’t have been and I almost caused a riot.”
- Describe your first impressions of Felix, Mother Minka, and one other character introduced in the opening chapter. Consider the traits they appear to possess and your response to meeting them.
- What is the significance of the carrot, and what are Felix’s plans for it?
Chapter 2 (page 9) “Once I stayed awake all night, waiting for Mum and Dad to arrive.”
- What memories and physical evidence does Felix have of his parents? What beliefs does Felix have about them? What beliefs does he hold about what happened?
________________________________________________________________________
- Explain the importance of Felix’s notebook. Identify four things this notebook symbolizes.
Chapter 3 (page 18) “Once I saw a customer, years ago, damaging books in Mum and Dad’s shop. Tearing pages out. Screwing them up. Shouting things I couldn’t understand.”
- Identify two things that unsettle Felix and explain how his thinking starts to change.
- Felix has plans to help his mother and father. What are they, and what motivates him to take action?
Chapter 4 (page 29) “Once I escaped from an orphanage in the mountains and I didn’t have to do any of the things you do in escape stories.”
- List some of the reasons Felix considers himself lucky. List things you think he could complain about.
- What indications are there—recognized or missed by Felix—that something is terribly wrong? What explanations does Felix come up with to make sense of things?
Chapter 5 (page 41) “Once I walked all night and all the next day except for a short sleep in a forest and all night again and then I was home.”
- Contrast Felix’s dreams with the reality of what he discovers when he makes it home.
- Describe the range of emotions he experiences. Analyze emotions he observes in other people encountered at this point in the story. How would you classify them?
Chapter 6 (page 53) “Once I walked as fast as I could towards the city to find Mum and Dad and I didn’t let anything stop me. Not until the fire.”
- What changes have taken place in and how do they influence his actions?
- How does Felix control his anxiety and make use of his storytelling ability?
Chapter 7 (page 62) “Once I woke up and I was at home in bed. Dad was reading me a story about a boy who got left in an orphanage. Mum came in with some carrot soup. They both promised they’d never leave me anywhere. We hugged and hugged.”
- What is the significance of the armbands? What do Felix’s predictions about the future signify?
________________________________________________________________________
- Describe the range of reactions the children are showing as result of the traumas each has suffered. How do you feel about the stories shared by the children?
Chapter 13 (page 121) “Once I told Zelda a story that made her cry, so I lay on her sack with her for hours and hours until she fell asleep.”
- Analyze Barney’s gesture of giving Felix new boots. What does he mean by what he says to Felix on page 122? What other “good things” does Felix seem to think he’s got, and what can you see in him that is good (e.g., his hope and optimism)?
- Felix makes a terrible discovery in the chapter and Barney is forced to tell him some awful truths about what is going on. What is Felix torn between as he tries to take it all in?
Chapter 14 (page 132) “Once I loved stories and now I hate them.”
- Describe Felix’s state of mind as this chapter opens. Describe your own feelings as you read about his close shaves and what he discovers upon returning to his hideout.
- The importance of books is emphasized in this chapter. Felix’s favorite gets him into terrible danger, but other books save him. What do books symbolize and mean for Felix?
Chapter 15 (page 144) “Once the Nazis found our cellar. They dragged us all out and made us walk through the ghetto while they pointed guns at us.”
- Barney and Zelda wouldn’t go. Why not? Think of three more reasons.
- What is important to Felix as they head to the railway station? What is important to the others as they are tossed aboard the train?
Chapter 16 (page 153) “Once I went on my first train journey, but I wouldn’t call it exciting—I’d call it painful and miserable.”
- Once again, a book becomes a savior of sorts. Explain how. What is the significance of the fact that Felix is willing to use—and virtually lose—his notebook?
- What choice and possible outcomes does the hole in the carriage create for the people inside?
Chapter 17 (page 162) “Once I lay in a field somewhere in Poland, not sure if I was alive or dead.”
________________________________________________________________________
- Felix feels fortunate: “However my story turns out, I’ll never forget how lucky I am” (page 163). What is your explanation for this?
- Knowing Felix as you do by the end of the novel, how do you think his story might continue to unfold?
Teachers’ notes written by Andrea Blake
About the Author:
Once by Morris Gleitzman Ages 12 and up Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-9026- Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-312-65304-
Also Available from Morris Gleitzman:
Then Ages 12 and up Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-9027- Paperback ISBN-13: 978-01-250-00341-6 (available in May 2013) Discussion guide available
Now Ages 12 and up Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-9378- Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-250-03417-5 (available November 2013) Discussion guide available
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group mackids.com / macteenbooks.com
Morris Gleitzman has been a frozen-chicken defroster, fashion-industry trainee, department-store Santa, sugar-mill employee, and screenwriter, among other things. Now he’s one of Australia’s best-loved children’s book authors. His books have been published all over the world. You can visit him at ww.morrisgleitzman.com.
