Once

Once by Morris Gleitzman

Once I escaped from an orphanage to find Mum and Dad. Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house. Once I made a Nazi with a toothache laugh.

My name if Felix.

This is my story.

For three years and eight months Felix has lived in a convent orphanage high in the mountains in Poland. But Felix is different than the other orphans. He is convinced his parents are still alive and will come back to get him. When a group of Nazi soldiers come and burn the nuns' books, Felix is terrified that his Jewish bookseller parents will also be in danger. After escaping from the orphanage, Felix embarks on a long and dangerous journey through Nazi occupied Poland, befriending a little orphan girl Zelda and a kindly dentist, Barney, who hides and cares for Jewish children. But, when the Nazi's discover them, Barney makes the ultimate sacrifice for the children.

For those of you who liked, Number the Stars, The Boy in The Striped Pajamas or Milkweed.