Once by Morris Gleitzman

The first book in a trilogy, Once is set in Poland in 1942. After witnessing the Nazis burning all of the Jewish books in his catholic orphanage, Felix escapes to warn his parents, who are Jewish booksellers. Accompanied by Zelda, an orphan, Felix discovers that they are in serious danger and that his parent’s problems are worse than he imagined. Told through the eyes of a child, Once shows the kinds of horrors that occurred under the Nazi regime, without revealing graphic details.

Genre: Junior fiction  
Reading level: 8 years +    
Publisher details: Camberwell, Victoria: Penguin, 2005

Blogger's note: Like the sound of this book? Why not check out the audio excerpt posted under the Recommended Resources link of this blog?