image of person or book cover 2181339603474780418.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
y separately published work icon Once single work   children's fiction   children's  
Is part of Felix and Zelda Morris Gleitzman , 2005 series - author children's fiction (number 1 in series)
Issue Details: First known date: 2005... 2005 Once
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

After nearly four years in a Polish orphanage Felix sets out in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of his parents.

Reading Australia

Reading Australia

This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.

Unit Suitable For AC: Year 6 (NSW Stage 3)

Duration This unit is intended to take 6 - 10 weeks to complete. The timeline includes preliminary study so the teacher can familiarise students with the themes of the book. Students can complete the reading of the book through a mixture of shared, modelled and guided reading sessions with the teacher or through independent reading.

Curriculum Summary

Find a summary table for Australian Curriculum: English content descriptions and NSW syllabus outcomes for this unit.

Themes

Anzac Day, Australian Children's Laureates, friendship, History, human spirit, resilience, war

General Capabilities

Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding, Literacy

Teaching Resources

Teaching Resources

This work has teaching resources.

Teachers' notes via publisher's website.

Notes

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Puffin , 2005 .
      image of person or book cover 2181339603474780418.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 149p.
      ISBN: 0143301950
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Puffin ,
      2005 .
      image of person or book cover 5149966333761239267.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 149p.
      ISBN: 014132063X, 9780141320632
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Once and Then Morris Gleitzman , Camberwell : Penguin , 2009 Z1623268 2009 selected work children's fiction children's Camberwell : Penguin , 2009
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Henry Holt ,
      2010 .
      image of person or book cover 6527911468996078690.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 163p.
      ISBN: 0805090266, 9780805090260
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Square Fish ,
      2013 .
      image of person or book cover 205165769669030871.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 163p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 19th March 2013
      ISBN: 0312653042, 9780312653040
Alternative title: Einmal
Language: German
    • Hamburg,
      c
      Germany,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Carlsen Verlag ,
      2009 .
      image of person or book cover 6636447439394506250.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 187p.
      ISBN: 9783551358622 3551358621

Other Formats

  • Dyslexic edition
  • Braille.
  • Large print.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

Stories to Treasure Stephanie Owen Reeder , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 11 May 2013; (p. 26)
Grasping the Unimaginable : Recent Holocaust Novels for Children by Morris Gleitzman and John Boyne Ruth Gilbert , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature in Education , December vol. 41 no. 4 2010; (p. 355-366)

'This discussion explores the role that storytelling and stories might have in leading children towards an awareness of uncertainty and ambiguity in relation to Holocaust representation. It focuses on Morris Gleitzman’s Once (2006), its sequel Then (2008), and John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006) to consider the narrative techniques used to draw young readers into an understanding of the Holocaust. In particular, the discussion examines the role of silence within these narratives to suggest that a meaningful dialogue with silence is a crucial aspect in communicating the fractured nature of Holocaust history. Literature aimed at a young audience engages explicitly with the oft-cited injunction not to forget the Holocaust by setting out to inform a new generation of readers about the horrors of the Nazi genocide. In my analysis of these texts, however, I want to consider whether we should assume that such works do necessarily perform a progressive educative role. The article argues that the blunt didacticism of Boyne’s text might close down possibilities for the child reader’s imaginative engagement with the ungraspable nature of the Holocaust. In contrast, Gleitzman’s novels confront the child reader with a complex set of ideas about the relationship between narrative and subjectivity.'

The Darker Facts of Life Sophie Cunningham (interviewer), 2008 single work interview
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 67 no. 4 2008; (p. 202-213)
[Review] Once Deborah Robins , 2006 single work review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 20 no. 1 2006; (p. 53-54)

— Review of Once Morris Gleitzman , 2005 single work children's fiction
An Awfully Big Adventure : Killing Death in War Stories for Children Alison Halliday , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 16 no. 2 2006; (p. 90-95)
Halliday locates a gap in Kerry Mallan's study concerning discourses of death and dying in children's literature, and claims, 'A curious omission is death in war, from the legal killing of and by soldiers, to the horror underlying the euphemism of 'collateral damage'' (90). Halliday suggests that despite a 'proliferation of discourses [on the] manifestations of death... there is a lingering taboo in dealing with death in war stories, especially for older readers' (90). The essay refers to some of the strategies and narrative techniques used to represent war in children's fiction from an array of novels, including several Australian children's texts by contemporary authors, Morris Gleitzman, Sonya Hartnett, Anthony Eaton, Serpil Ural and David Metzenthen. Strategies discussed include discourses of hope, the use of metaphor, reader-subject positioning and setting with Halliday concluding that, 'When death is present and brutally explicit...cultural pressures about the appropriateness of reading material and consequent censorship occur' (94).
In Short : Fiction Michael McGirr , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 20-21 August 2005; (p. 22)

— Review of Something Fishy Derek Hansen , 2005 selected work short story ; Once Morris Gleitzman , 2005 single work children's fiction
Once Upon a Time ... Jane Fynes-Clinton , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 20 - 21 August 2005; (p. 6)

— Review of Once Morris Gleitzman , 2005 single work children's fiction
This Week's Selections Katharine England , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 27 August 2005; (p. 16)

— Review of Once Morris Gleitzman , 2005 single work children's fiction
Kids' Lit Jodie Minus , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 August 2005; (p. 10)

— Review of The Venice Job Deborah Abela , 2005 single work children's fiction ; The Secret World of Wombats Jackie French , 2005 single work non-fiction ; Once Morris Gleitzman , 2005 single work children's fiction ; Irving the Magician Tohby Riddle , 2005 single work picture book
End of Innocence Sally Blakeney , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 13 September vol. 123 no. 6487 2005; (p. 68-69)

— Review of Once Morris Gleitzman , 2005 single work children's fiction ; East of Time Jacob G. Rosenberg , 2005 single work autobiography ; The Book Thief Markus Zusak , 2005 single work novel
Writing Politics into Children's Books Christopher Bantick , 2005 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 September 2005; (p. 17)
The Children's Book Council of Australia Judges' Report 2006 2006 single work column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , August vol. 50 no. 3 2006; (p. 8-14)
An Awfully Big Adventure : Killing Death in War Stories for Children Alison Halliday , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 16 no. 2 2006; (p. 90-95)
Halliday locates a gap in Kerry Mallan's study concerning discourses of death and dying in children's literature, and claims, 'A curious omission is death in war, from the legal killing of and by soldiers, to the horror underlying the euphemism of 'collateral damage'' (90). Halliday suggests that despite a 'proliferation of discourses [on the] manifestations of death... there is a lingering taboo in dealing with death in war stories, especially for older readers' (90). The essay refers to some of the strategies and narrative techniques used to represent war in children's fiction from an array of novels, including several Australian children's texts by contemporary authors, Morris Gleitzman, Sonya Hartnett, Anthony Eaton, Serpil Ural and David Metzenthen. Strategies discussed include discourses of hope, the use of metaphor, reader-subject positioning and setting with Halliday concluding that, 'When death is present and brutally explicit...cultural pressures about the appropriateness of reading material and consequent censorship occur' (94).
The Darker Facts of Life Sophie Cunningham (interviewer), 2008 single work interview
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 67 no. 4 2008; (p. 202-213)
Stories to Treasure Stephanie Owen Reeder , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 11 May 2013; (p. 26)
Last amended 15 Nov 2023 07:37:12
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