‘I got you the boots because everybody deserves to have something good in their life at least once’
‘Once’ by Morris Gleitzman
Currently reading this book with my class as part of our World War 2 topic. It reminds me a lot of John Boyne’s ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ but in this case from the perspective of a Jewish boy called Felix in Poland. An interesting read yet, in class discussions, I’m aware that the inference is fairly subtle with regard to the contextual events engulfing Felix’s life – more so than I had first thought. As such, my interpretation of the book was very different to that of the students, sort of reiterating the author’s point!?
The sparks of humour are also nuanced; there were more than a few parts that made me chuckle. But then just as many that had me misty-eyed or teary intermittently throughout …
‘Even the nuns don’t get whole carrots, and they get bigger servings than us kids because they need extra energy for being holy’
‘ “Yes but where?”, says a woman wearing a scarf. A man with his arm round her rolls his eyes. He looks like he’s done it before, so he’s probably her husband’
‘Thank you God, Jesus, Mary, the Pope and Richmal Crompton!’
Bookishly Abroad 