Once.

ONCE. Morris Gleitzrnan. 2005. Read by the author. 3 cds. 3 hrs. Bolinda Audio. 1-7409-3691-4. $28.00. Vinyl; plot, author notes. JSA *

It is amazing that a mature man with a tinge of an Australian accent can make you believe that he is Felix, a young Jewish teen living in Poland at the time of the German invasion. Perhaps it is because as author and narrator Gleitzman is so thoroughly immersed in Felix's personality and other characters of his creation.

Felix's parents, proprietors of a bookshop, having seen the dreadful Nazi handwriting on the wall, place their son in a Roman Catholic orphanage to protect him. The nuns are poor, their building collapsing, but still the sisters are caring and protective, even of children who don't share their faith. After Nazi troops arrive to burn the nuns' library for having unacceptable books in it, Felix feels he must leave the orphanage to locate his parents and warn them and other Jewish booksellers to hide their stock to protect them from this vandalism. He slips away and begins traveling through the countryside, all the while completely ignorant of the true facts of Jewish persecution. He constantly concocts logical (to him) explanations of what is happening to Jews he sees along his way. He rescues Zelda, a little girl whose parents have been brutally murdered in their farmyard, and brings her with him on his search. Once they have reached the city, the true Nazi horrors are revealed.

Despite everything, Felix remains optimistic and kind, even as he is packed into a boxcar with other unfortunates en route to a concentration camp. Felix and Zelda undergo hairbreadth escapes on their journey, creating almost unbearable suspense throughout. Though the mood is somber, the author masterfully adds occasional touches of humor; the inevitable scenes of barbaric cruelty are shocking. This is a masterful depiction of a truth that must never be forgotten. Pat Dole, Richmond, VA