THEN-ONCE-SERIES

1. [Download free pdf] Then (Once Series) Then (Once Series) Morris Gleitzman audiobook | *ebooks | Download PDF | ePub | DOC #59206 in Books Morris Gleitzman 2013-05-21 2013-05-21Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.27 x .63 x 5.45l, .43 #File Name: 1250003415224 pagesThen | File size: 68.Mb Morris Gleitzman : Then (Once Series) before purchasing it in order to gage whether or not it would be worth my time, and all praised Then (Once Series): 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Sad but I loved it! Review by Liam age 11By Liam RI really love this book called Then it is set's during World War 2. The story would make you laugh and cry with them. It is a really sad book the main character is Felix he is 10 years old boy and need to find new parents knowing that his got killed by the Nazis. Then Felix meets a girl called Zelda she is 6 years old and also her parents were killed by Nazis, so they both decided to be a family. They both went to find new parents they meet a farmer who has a dog and now their a

2. family. As you read the story you will know how the farmer becomes a family with them.I connected the boy is my age I also realised how tragic it was during World War 2.Since this story is really sad even for me, some of the words kids would not understand it is such a great book and I think kids above the age of 9 should read it. I would give the book 5/5 stars its such a great book and I think youll enjoy it.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Association of Jewish Libraries ReviewsBy AJL ReviewsUpon first reading Once (Holt, 2010), I thought it was implausible that Felix, the child left by his parents in the Christian orphanage, would not realize what was happening, but upon reflection I understood that his misinterpretation through Once (and continued in Then) was really on target. He represents normality and innocence. After all, what parent or child could possibly fathom the evil that was to befall them, or of which human beings were capable? The children epitomize innocence, while they are almost totally surrounded by evil. In Then, the two children, Felix and Zelda jump off a train on its way to a Nazi death camp; their friend Chaya is killed in the process and the children bury her, leaving little 6 year-old Zelda with her short legs and wearing only slippers, less strength to keep up with Felix as he drags her up the hill and into the woods beyond, before a Nazi train, carrying Jews to camps, comes with machine guns on the roof and soldiers who would shoot at them. He also has to worry since Zelda has a bad habit of yelling obscenities at Nazis. Felix, who is ten, adores her as if she was his little sister, and does his best to save both their lives and to keep her quiet, telling her stories about finding kind homes in the wood. Instead, they find a pit in the ground with the tangled up bodies of children, some younger than Zelda. Zelda sobs loudly and the Nazi soldiers glare up the hill and start shooting.For the rest of the book, they have encounters with various characters, including the son of the matron who ran the former orphanage and now lives in the woods, part of the Resistance. Felix, in his naivet, is trying to find his parents, in order to warn them not to buy Jewish books because the Nazis don't like them. The reader must accept Felix's and Zelda's naivet to accept the premise of the book, which has several topsy-turvy events that defy the reader's expectation. Throughout all their adventures, Felix compares their plight to what happens in a favorite book of his, but this isn't fiction, it is their lives. The wife of a German soldier becomes their surrogate mother; her husband, a German soldier, becomes a deserter who hides in the hole in the barn floor that Felix had dug for Zelda to hide. The menacing man in the truck, obviously a Nazi sympathizer, is not--he hides Jews. Their adventures are impressive and frightening; the dangers are real; the innocence of the children will draw the reader into worrying about them; and the suspense is structured to increase throughout the story, which culminates in a startling finale. I say "Cheers" for both Then and its predecessor, Once.Marcia Weiss Posner1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. "...trying to grasp the unimaginable"By J.PratherThen continues the story of Felix and Zelda directly where we left off at the end of Once. The Felix we meet in this book is a bit different; his stories are no longer whimsical tales trying to explain Nazi behavior. He is now solidly focused on survival and while story is still important in this book, it's power comes once again from Felix's strong narrative voice and his maturation into a young man who is forced to come face to face with evil and recognize it for what it is.Felix's story is poignant and heartbreaking. The author does not gloss over anything, and does an incredible job of showing the reader what things looked like to a child of the time. Felix is still a storyteller, but most of all he is a survivor and he uses his skill to not only look out for the physical safety of his adopted family, but also their psychological well being. He has changed from the naive boy we met in Once to a young man perceptive beyond his years. His ability to still hold on to his true self was the triumph in a story that offered few happy endings.This is a compelling read that offers a unique perspective on a terrible time. The author states in his afterword that "This story is my imagination trying to grasp the unimaginable". He does a fantastic job in taking us one step closer to truly understanding what took place, and his work will no doubt encourage many young readers to further their own historical explorations. This book continues an important story that is not to be missed. Felix and Zelda have escaped the death camp train, but where do they go now? They're two runaway kids in Nazi- occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust. Danger lies at every turn of the road. With the help of a woman named Genia and their active imaginations, Felix and Zelda find a new home and begin to heal, forming a new family together. But can it last?Morris Gleitzman's winning characters will tug at readers' hearts as they struggle to survive in the harsh political climate of Poland in 1942. Their lives are difficult, but they always remember what matters: family, love, and hope. * In a conclusion both devastating and hopeful, the innocence and maturity of Felix's narrative voice conveys human resilience when faced with the impossible. Publishers Weekly, starred review* Sequel to the searing Once, this tale of young people trying to survive in Poland during World War II is equally powerful. . . . Despite all the grinding misery and the moments of sheer terror, Felix retains his humanity, and a reader surely must walk with the protagonists on their long and tortured journey. Kirkus s, starred review* While the protagonists are young, this book is for older readers as it spares nothing in its imaginings of the losses and horror that were the Holocaust. School Library Journal, starred reviewThere is no triumphant climax, and right up until the shocking end, the story of hidden children will grab readers with its details of the daily tension of rescue and betrayal. BooklistAbout the AuthorMorris Gleitzman has been a frozen-chicken defroster, fashion-industry trainee, department-store Santa, sugar-mill employee, and

3. screenwriter, among other things. Now he's one of Australia's best-loved children's book authors, with books published worldwide.Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Thenwe ran for our lives, me and Zelda, up a hillside as fast as we could.Which wasnt very fast.Not even with me holding Zeldas hand and helping her up the slope.You know how when you and two friends jump off a train thats going to a Nazi death camp and you nearly knock yourself unconscious but you manage not to and your glasses dont even get broken but your friend Chaya isnt so lucky and she gets killed so you bury her under some ferns and wildflowers, which takes a lot of strength, and you havent got much energy left for running and climbing?Thats how it is now for me and Zelda.My legs hurt, says Zelda.Poor thing. Shes only six. Her legs arent very big. And shes wearing bedtime slippers, which arent very good for scrambling up a steep hill covered with prickly grass.But we cant slow down.We have to get away before another Nazi train comes along with machine guns on the roof.I glance over my shoulder.At the bottom of the hill, the railway track is gleaming in the sun like the shiny bits on a Nazi officers uniform.I peer up the slope.At the top is a thick forest. When we get up there, well be safe. Well be hidden. The next Nazi train wont be able to see us as long as Zelda doesnt yell rude things at them.If we can get up there.Come on, I say to Zelda. Keep going. We mustnt stop.Im not stopping, says Zelda indignantly. Dont you know anything?I know why Zeldas cross. She thinks Im lucky. I am. Im ten. Ive got strong legs and strong boots. But I wish my legs were stronger. If I was twelve, I could carry Zelda on my back.Ow, she says, slipping and bashing her knee.Gently I pull her up.Are you okay? I say.No, she says as we hurry on. This hill is an idiot.I smile, but not for long.Suddenly I hear the worst sound in the world. The rumble of another train in the distance, getting closer.I peer up the slope again.The forest is too far. We wont get there in time. If the Nazis see us on this hillside, well be easy targets. My shirts got rips in it that are flapping all over the place. Zeldas dress is lots of colors but not camouflage ones.The train is getting very close.Lie flat, I say, pulling Zelda down onto the grass.You said we mustnt stop, she says.I know, I say. But now we mustnt move.Im not moving, says Zelda. See?Were lying on our tummies, completely still except for a bit of panting. Zelda is clinging to me. Her face is hot against my cheek. Her hands are gripping my arm. I can see that one of her fingernails is bleeding from pulling up ferns for Chaya.The noise of the train is very loud now. Any second itll be coming around the bend below us. I wish we had ferns to hide under. Near us is a rabbit hole. I wish me and Zelda were rabbits. We could crouch deep in the hillside and eat carrots.But were not. Were humans.The Nazi train screeches around the bend.Zelda grips me even tighter.Felix, she says, if we get shot, I hope we get shot together.I feel the same. I squeeze her hand. Not too tight because of her fingernail.I wish we were living in ancient times when machine guns were really primitive. When youd be lucky to hit a mountain with one, even up close. Instead of in 1942 when machine guns are so supermodern they can smash about a thousand bullets into an escaping kid even from the top of a speeding train.Below us the Nazi train is clattering like a thousand machine guns.I put my arm around Zelda and pray to Richmal Crompton to keep us safe.Zelda isnt Jewish, I tell Richmal Crompton silently. But she still needs protection because Nazis sometimes kill Catholic kids too. Specially Catholic kids who are a bit headstrong and cheeky.Richmal Crompton isnt holy or anything, but shes a really good story writer, and in her books she keeps William and Violet Elizabeth and the other children safe even when theyre being extremely headstrong and cheeky.My prayer works.No bullets smash into our bodies.Thank you, I say silently to Richmal Crompton.Down the hill I see the train disappearing around the next bend. I can tell its another death camp train full of Jewish people. Its got the same carriages our train had, the ones that look like big wooden boxes nailed shut.On the roof of the last carriage theres a machine gun, but the two Nazi soldiers sitting behind it are busy eating.Come on, I say to Zelda as soon as the train is out of sight.We get to our feet. At the top of the hill the forest waits for us, cool and dark and safe.I dont know how long till the next train, so we have to move fast. We might not be so lucky with the next one. The Nazi machine gun soldiers might not be having an early dinner.I grab Zeldas hand and we start scrambling up the slope again.Zelda trips on a rabbit hole and almost falls. I save her but accidentally almost yank her arm out of its socket.Sorry, I say.Its not your fault, says Zelda. Its the rabbits fault. Dont you know anything?She lets go of my hand and holds her shoulder and her dark eyes fill with tears.I put my arms around her.I know her shoulder isnt the only reason shes crying. Its also because of whats happened to our parents and our friends. And because the most powerful army in the history of the world is trying to kill us.If I start thinking about all this, Ill end up crying myself.Which is not good. People who are crying cant climb hillsides very fast. Ive seen it happen.I try to think of a way to cheer us both up.In the next valley there might be a house, I say. With a really kind cook. Whos made too much dinner and whos looking for people to help eat the extra platefuls of delicious stew.Not stew, says Zelda. Sausages.Okay, I say. And boiled eggs.And marmalade, says Zelda. On bread fingers.Its working. Zelda has stopped crying. Now shes pulling me up the hill.And bananas, I say.Whats bananas? says Zelda.While we climb, I tell her about all the exotic fruit Ive read about in stories. Thats another way Im lucky. I grew up in a bookshop. Zelda didnt, but shes still got a really good imagination. By the time we get to the top of the hill, shes fairly certain the cook has got mangoes and oranges for us as well.We plunge into the forest and hurry through the thick undergrowth. It feels really good to be in here with the ferns and bushes and trees sheltering us. Specially when I suddenly hear a scary sound in the distance.Machine guns.We stop and listen.Must be another train, I say.We look at each other. The machine guns go on and on, not close but still terrifying.I dont say anything about train people trying to escape, in case theyre getting shot dead. Theres only so much getting shot dead a little kid like Zelda can take.Do you want to rest? I

4. say to her.What I actually mean is does she want to hide, but I dont say that either because I dont want her to feel even more scared.No, says Zelda, pushing ahead. I want my dinner.I know how she feels. Better to get farther away from the railway line. Plus, its almost evening and we havent eaten all day.I follow her.At last the distant shooting stops.The house is this way, says Zelda, scrambling through a tangle of creepers.Thats the good thing with stories. Theres always a chance they can come true. Poland is a big country. Its got a lot of Nazis in it, but its also got a lot of forests. And a lot of houses. And quite a few sausages.Has the cook got chocolate? says Zelda after a while.Maybe, I say. If we think about it really hard.Zelda screws up her forehead as we hurry on.By the time we get to the other side of the forest, Im pretty sure the cook has got chocolate, a big bar of it.We pause at the edge of the trees and squint down into the next valley. My glasses are smudged. I take them off and polish them on my shirt.Zelda gives a terrified squeak, and grabs me and points.I put my glasses back on and peer down at what shes seen.Zelda isnt pointing at a distant house belonging to a kind cook, because there arent any houses. Shes pointing at something much closer.A big hole in the hillside. A sort of pit, with piles of freshly dug earth next to it. Lying in the hole, tangled up together, are children. Lots of them. All different ages. Some older than me, some even younger than Zelda.What are those children doing? says Zelda in a worried voice.I dont know, I say.Im feeling worried too.They look like Jewish children. I can tell because theyre all wearing white armbands with a blue blob that Im pretty sure is a Jewish star.Trembling, I give my glasses another clean.This wasnt in your story, whispers Zelda.Shes right, it wasnt.The children arent moving.Theyre dead.Thats t...