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Then

(Once #2)

Morris Gleitzman

4.40 · Rating details · 8,932 ratings · 729 reviews

In Then - Morris Gleitzman's heartbreaking children's novel set during the Nazi occupation of Poland during the Second World War - Jewish orphan Felix and his best friend Zelda have been captured and are on the way to a concentration camp, unless they manage to escape . . .

A little hope goes a long way.

I had a plan for me and Zelda. Pretend to be someone else. Find new par ...more

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Paperback, 184 pages

Published January 1st 2009 by Puffin (first published 2008)

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

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· 8,932 ratings · 729 reviews

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Jul 12, 2016 PorshaJo rated it really liked it

Shelves: challenge, challengereads, challengereads-2016

Rating is a 4.5

ONCE I read a book about a boy named Felix. He was a young child living during the terror of the Nazis and escaped an orphanage to find his parents. He met a 6 year-old girl named Zelda. They are just trying to survive and find new parents. THEN I picked up the 2nd book in this series to hear more about these two and I am just devastated.

Then picks up immediately where the first book, Once, ends. Each chapter in each book begins with the one word title of the book. When I say the ...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Rebecca rated it it was amazing

*SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT READ ONCE*

When I finished the review for the first book in this series, Once, I said that I would look out for the rest of the books in the series. However, after going to my nearest town - no HIGH STREET (I never go there because it is so small and has a crap selection of books in the library), I found this one, waiting for me.
WOW, didn't realise I would find it THAT quickly. So...I picked it up.

Synopsis: The book starts where the previous one left off after the *SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT READ ONCE*

When I finished the review for the first book in this series, Once, I said that I would look out for the rest of the books in the series. However, after going to my nearest town - no HIGH STREET (I never go there because it is so small and has a crap selection of books in the library), I found this one, waiting for me.
WOW, didn't realise I would find it THAT quickly. So...I picked it up.

Synopsis: The book starts where the previous one left off after they have escaped. They are two runaway kids in the middle of Nazi-occupied Poland who would shoot them straight away, no questions asked. Soon, they find shelter with a nice, older woman and start to build a family and change their lives. But then, the Nazis come.

Review: When I say it starts where Once left off, I mean it. I starts literally seconds afterwards and is a nice bridge from the old one. If you have not read Once, you could read this one, although they do ever so often refer to past events. I think it's better if you did though, you have a total understanding of the pain and suffering they went through, and the back story of how they met one another.
Felix is Jewish, and was sent to an orphanage by his parents so to protect him from being killed. Zelda's parents, although were Nazi loyalists, were shot dead by them and tried to burn the house down to kill Zelda. However, Felix saved her and she stayed with him.

This is a harrowing, sad, depressing book, that always keep you guessing and wondering. Once was like this but also had comical and happy moments mixed in. Whenever things start to look up for Felix, his whole world gets destroyed all over again. There are twists and turns like a roller coaster and some of the best literature is displayed in this book, it should of won so many more prizes. You never expect anything that happens.

Felix was, once again, a delightful protagonist and I really felt for him, especially latterly. He seems to start having a good time and then, everything is crumbled down. He's a good guy and just wants to protect everyone but himself. I know, the events are not true for just one person in this time, but it makes you really think, through Felix, the horrible, vile times Jewish people had under Nazi rule. Morris Gleitzman makes you think over and over again in your mind, the simple question: Why? WHY? Just, why.
Something we may never know.
I said in my review for Once that Zelda annoyed me. A lot, especially with her constant 'Don't you know anything?' ERM, NO WE DON'T. Anyway, that lovely line was in this book too, BUT not as much and I actually started really connecting with Zelda too, especially when she became a different person - Violetta (I really like that name actually). Zelda is also only six years-old when Felix is ten. It's strange how she seems so grown up and honestly, I thought she was the same age as Felix until said. It's disgraceful how much she had been through just at that age, and many other real people too.

Once again, Gleitzman has started each chapter with the name of the book and ended it the same way - which is so original. At the end, Felix is suddenly so overcome by emotions that he does something completely out of character and quite frightening. However, once he is reminded of his past, he goes back to his old self again.
This book is very different to Once. Instead of kind of setting the scene and introducing characters, it focuses more on other aspects of life in Poland at that time. We see rationing, the Hitler Youth, the SS killing squads and many other social and cultural details. I think I preferred this book to the first and definitely enjoyed it more because of this.

This book is very harrowing and makes you feel very uncomfortable frequently. You are constantly on the edge waiting and knowing what may happen. Events happen sometimes so quickly, you don't realise that you've just read around 10 pages. This is worth a read for anyone that read either Once or just loves this period of history. It may be about younger children, but this book is for any age - but warning, you may cry.
Verdict: A definite read, but I would read Once first before you move onto this. If you didn't like Once, keep going - it's worth it.

I give it 5 out of 5
...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Brodief rated it it was amazing

I decided to read the book "Then" by Morris Gleitzman because I had read the first book in the series "Once" at Intermediate School and really enjoyed it.

The category that this book fits into on the bingo board is, a book set in another time in history.

The character I found most interesting was Felix. I feel I can relate to him because he worries (like I do at times) about lots of things and his actions at time can get him into danger. Felix is only 10 years old. He likes to explore, he likes to ...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Lisa Vegan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: every reader who enjoyed the book Once

Shelves: childrens, z2011, fiction, readbooks-male-author-or-illust, novel, young-adult, zz-5star, orphaned-and-quasi-orphaned-kids, reviewed, historical-fiction

This is the second book in a trilogy, children’s novels with children characters about the Holocaust. In the first book, Once, the first word of each chapter was Once. Here, the first word in each chapter is Then. It works! Book 2 in a trilogy: typically the weakest book, but this book is as strong (and devastating and heartwarming) as is book 1. Packs a huge punch to the gut; for me the punch was completely worth taking. Lovely book. I’ll be reading the 3rd book even though I suspect it will be ...more

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Feb 23, 2016 Sally906 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, historical, australian-author, ebook-kobo

I cried!!

Wow - the cruelty that people can inflict on each other still catches me by surprise. We hear about, and condemn, acts of atrocity today. But stories like these bring home that nothing is new.

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Sep 23, 2011 Sam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

*Sniff Sniff* Why?! Why did Morris Gleitzman write such a sad story!! This is the follow on to his first book on the holocaust called “Once”. It continues the story of the young Jewsish boy Felix and his little 6 year old friend Zelda. I can’t really say that I enjoyed the first book or this book because it’s such an emotional topic, but I can say that I liked it because Felix felt very real and his voice was very strong throughout the book. It felt exactly like I was hearing the story straight ...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Krista the Krazy Kataloguer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-holocaust, read-survival, read-ya, read-historical-fiction

The second book in this Holocaust trilogy was just as chilling and horrific as the first book, Once. It picks up exactly where Once left off, with Felix, age 10, and Zelda, age 6, fleeing through the countryside after managing to escape from a Nazi death train. I couldn't read this one all in one sitting; I had to read a few chapters at a time and stop. Just when you think everything may finally be all right for them, something horrible happens. The feeling of tension, of waiting for the other s ...more

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Mar 20, 2017 Claire (Book Blog Bird) rated it really liked it

This is the follow up to Once, which was a bittersweet, heart warming story. This is a worthy sequel and Felix's narrative is as beautiful as ever. There's more of a dark undercurrent to this story, however, and the ending made me spin the audiobook back and forth a few times to see if I'd heard correctly. Definitely worth reading if you enjoyed the first book and I'm certainly going to carry on with the series.

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Oct 17, 2017 Felicity Gibson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, novels

Then and Once, the first two books of a series, tell the powerful story of a boy who grew up at the time of the Holocaust in Poland. I could often sympathize with the protagonist and imagine how tough it was for Jews. I would recommend this series to children in Years 5 and 6, especially if they are learning about the Holocaust.

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May 04, 2019 ~Bellegirl91~ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"Why do people start wars when they know so many sad things are going to happen? I don't get it?"

Now I want to go and hug my mom so tightly and tell her how much I love her after this book!

Oh my gosh this one was so fetching sad and the last 10 or less pages were heartbreaking 😭💔😭💔 I can't stop thinking about it now cause it's just too sad.... 😔😔

This one picks up literally just seconds after
what happened at the end of ONCE and from there it actually got so horrifically good that I had the hard ...more

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Feb 04, 2015 Krystal Estrada rated it it was amazing

Have you ever wondered how it was back then when the Nazis took over the Jewish people? Well then this is the book for you. This book is realistic fiction because it probably really happened back then but then it might not. In my opinion I think this book is really amazing because it teaches me how the Jewish were treated and how us people didn't really do nothing at that time.
In the book Then there is a ten year old boy named Felix and a 6 year old girl named Zelda. They are hiding from the N Have you ever wondered how it was back then when the Nazis took over the Jewish people? Well then this is the book for you. This book is realistic fiction because it probably really happened back then but then it might not. In my opinion I think this book is really amazing because it teaches me how the Jewish were treated and how us people didn't really do nothing at that time.
In the book Then there is a ten year old boy named Felix and a 6 year old girl named Zelda. They are hiding from the Nazis because they are Jewish and they can't find them. While they are running away they come across a house of a wife of a Nazi. Her husband was away so she took the kids in and treated them like they were hers. When they had to go out they had to hide and cover themselves up before anyone suspected things. Some of the ladies helpers come and they realizes that Felix is a Jewish so they go up to him and pull his pants down to check if he is (that's not cool at all.) Felix kind of has an accident in his pants and the boys start running away laughing. One of the soldiers is really nice to Felix because he is also Jewish but no one really knows. The ladies husband finally comes home as sees that he has Jewish people at his house but it doesn't really bother him he accepts them for who they are an takes them in as his own. If any Nazi new anyone was helping out the Jewish they would hang them and their family up with the Jewish people. They would do it in front of the town so everyone can see and so they can feel ashamed. Finally someone realized that they had Jewish people on their home so they took them and hung them up Felix didn't get hanged up because he left and realized that the little girl Zelda needed him as much as he needed her. When he goes he sees that Zelda and the lady and her husband got hanged up and he thought it was all his fault. (Saddest part of the story almost made me cry.) He sheds to tears because he knew he had to do everything to protect her so she can finally see her parents (heartbreaking.) The conflict in the story is person vs person because it's the nazis against the Jewish and people who supported them.
An interesting thing I learned from the book was that people can be so cruel and don't care what others think or how they feel it's just sad. I was moved by when the author put Zelda and Felix together in the story because it was just so heart taking and it's really got my attention.
I wish that in the book Felix and Zelda were related and that they burly found each other in this book because it would have added more intense to the book and made it more interesting. In the book Zelda carried this little locket to reminded her of her family it really stood out to me because a 6 year old had hope that one day she will meet up with her loved ones and she had a lot of courage which a lot of kids this generation don't have at all.
In conclusion I rate this book a 5 because it was just so heart taking and an amazing book. I would recommend this book to people who like to know about the past and would one day like to change people's mind about it because some people still think it's right to kill Jewish people. This book is very inspiring and amazing it's just so good it makes you want to read more so next time you think of getting a book you should get the book Then. ...more

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Jul 15, 2009 Banafsheh Serov rated it really liked it

Once and its sequel, Then are harrowing and beautifully told stories of ten year old Felix; a Jewish boy caught in the midst of the Holocaust. Similar to The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas and equally as good, Once and Then are told through the eyes of Felix, illustrating with child like purity the senselessness of war.

Once opens with Felix in a catholic orphanage where his parents had placed him in 1939. Two years later he escapes the orphanage to find the world outside changed dramatically. He su ...more

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Apr 05, 2017 Gdrumm rated it really liked it

1. I decided to read then because I was very interested in World War Two and lots of my friends and family recommended it to me.

2. I liked this book because it really put me in the perspective of the Jews and Felix. This book made me think of the terrible war that happened not to long ago and how family's and civilisation was destroyed by the terrible doings of the nazis.

3. I Learnt about some of the terrible things the nazis did to the Jews for example take them from there homes and torture th ...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Jessi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2012-favorites

I am simply amazed at how invested I became in this short little story. It is hilarious and heartbreaking simultaneously. I continued to fall in love with Felix and now am terrified for him and can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

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Jun 08, 2020 Vyapti added it

what happened in the end was the most traumatic thing ever 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭and that’s why i don’t know if i should give this book one star or five stars

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Jan 09, 2012 Alex Baugh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-2

Then continues the story of 10 year old Felix begun in Once. When Once ended, Felix and Zelda had just jumped from the cattle car heading to a concentration camp.

Then picks up the story as they flee through a forest. When they emerge from it, the first thing they see is a large pit in the ground full of the bodies of children and Nazis with machine guns standing around it. They flee back into the forest when the Nazis start shooting at them. While hiding, Felix and Zelda decide that the best th Then continues the story of 10 year old Felix begun in Once. When Once ended, Felix and Zelda had just jumped from the cattle car heading to a concentration camp.

Then picks up the story as they flee through a forest. When they emerge from it, the first thing they see is a large pit in the ground full of the bodies of children and Nazis with machine guns standing around it. They flee back into the forest when the Nazis start shooting at them. While hiding, Felix and Zelda decide that the best thing for them to do is to look for kind, new parents to protect them and take care of them.They spend the night in the forest and the next morning a farmer picks them up in his wagon, but they run away when Felix sees he has a paper from the Nazis offering money and vodka in exchange for Jews. They head back into the forest, and just when they think it is OK to leave, a very strong woman grabs hold of them.

The woman takes them to her farm and locks them in her barn. Eventually, she pushes some food into the barn, which Felix and Zelda end up sharing with the pig that lives there. Later, they hear a truck arriving, just as the woman comes into the barn, spreading pepper across the front of it. When the Nazis come in looking for Jews that might be hidden there, their dog starts to sneeze and can’t smell anything. Clearly, the woman has no intention of turning Felix and Zelda over to the Nazis. Still, before they leave, the soldiers stab at the hay where the children are hiding, just in case.

The woman, whose name is Genia, brings the children into the house. She bathes and feed them. But, during his bath, Felix and Genia realize that he is circumcised, and that this could be a real problem, since Nazis always check to see if, as Felix refers to it, a male has a Jewish private part.

Genia then makes up stories about their lives for them to tell people. They pick new names, Wilhelm and Violetta, after their favorite fictional characters, William and Violet Elizabeth, in the William books by Richmal Crompton. Felix has always told Zelda calming stories from William and often prays to Crompton to help them survive.

Felix makes one dangerous enemy, Cyryl, the son of the store owner where they shop, and one semi-friend, Dov, who survived the Nazi massacre that Felix and Zelda saw. Felix also becomes friends with Amon, a reluctant Hitler Youth who is also a big fan of Richmal Crompton.

Zelda is Felix’s biggest problem. She doesn’t seem to remember the danger they are in and continuously does things that could provoke the Nazis, failing to show them the respect they demand. Even declaring herself Jewish out of anger towards her Nazi parents, though Felix wants her to wear her locket with her father’s picture in his uniform, to try and keep her safe. But being safe under Nazi rule is always tentative…

This is one of those books where it is difficult to write about the narrative without spoiling the whole thing for future readers, because everything and everyone is so interconnected with the action. I intentionally hadn’t read much about Then or the third book about Felix, Now, so when I read the ending of this I was very surprised. It really wasn’t what I expected.

Often a sequel fails in satisfying a reader, because the first book was so good. It feels like nothing can measure up to it, but that is not the case here. I was happy to see that Gleitzman was able to recapture Felix as I remember him, allowing growth because of his experiences but still very much the sweet, innocent storytelling 10 year old boy he was in Once. Gleitzman has done this with Zelda, too, who remains the same annoyingly-endearing, smart mouth 6 year old girl of Once, constantly asking ‘Don’t you know anything?’ whenever someone states the obvious.

Gleitzman continues to give us a clear picture of the level of cruelty the Nazis were capable of, the total disregard for human life that was inherent in Hitler’s system of belief, and the deprivations inflicted on people, who were expected to accept them or pay the price. But he also gives us a picture of the kindness human beings are also capable of, and through Amon, Gleitzman reminds us that not everyone who was German and wore a uniform subscribed to what the Nazis were doing.

If you haven’t already read Once, I would highly recommend that you give it a try. If you have and you enjoyed it, Then is a book for you, though I think either one works as a stand alone story. I am looking forward to reading the third and final story of Felix in Gleitzman’s book Now, in which he is now an 80 year old grandfather. Rumor had it that a four might be in the works, so I emailed him and asked if this was so. The answer: Yes, it is, there will be a fourth book. I look forward to that one, too.

This book is recommended for readers age 12 and up.
This book was borrowed from the Webster Branch of the NYPL
...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

16 June 2011 THEN by Morris Gleitzman, Henry Holt, May 2011, 208p., ISBN: 978-0-8050-9027-7

"'That's okay,' says Zelda in a small voice. 'I'm not hungry.
'"I know she is because I am.
"I hug her even tighter. Sometimes love from your family can make your tummy not hurt quite so much."

What happens when a group of people is hated because of their ethnic or religious identity? You end up with a Holocaust. Millions of innocent people, including children, who have done nothing beyond having been rand ...more

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Sep 11, 2017 Maxine Hello rated it it was amazing

The book Then, by Morris Gleitzman is the second book in the Once series, I read that book a couple of times, it is a great book. This book is very easy to read, the Lexile level is kind of low, but I recommend everyone to read it. It is written in first person in the main character Felix’s perspective. Its about Felix and the other characters in the time period world war two, struggling to live avoiding Naxis, it is more difficult for Felix because he is jewish and has the sign that he is a jew ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Sofia Shaw rated it it was amazing

"Then," is the powerful sequel to "Once."
Felix, a ten year old Jewish boy is living his life in complete disguise after escaping the Jewish train to the Concentration Camp with his six year old sister, Zelda. Genia, their new 'Auntie' is now also risking her life to house two secretly Jewish children. In order to stay alive in the Nazi-invaded Poland, Felix and Zelda are forced into being transformed into two completely different people: German Nazi supporters with blonde hair and German names, ...more

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May 31, 2012 Mz. Diana Gagliardi rated it it was amazing

The problem with books like this is that they are TOO good. They are too good at letting you see the craziness of war and the struggle of children who try their best not to be killed. They are too good at showing you what can happen to good people. They are too good at confusing you with all the grays and shadows of morality...

Don't read this book if you don't want to think, and probably cry. I am still stopping and blowing my nose even as I write this. Because I can all too easily see what woul ...more

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Dec 14, 2017 Donna rated it it was amazing

Zelda may be my favourite female character ever. I loved this book!

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Jun 13, 2015 Lisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult-children, australian-reads

I was not ready for that!!!

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Dec 05, 2017 Katie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: holocaust, young-adult, historical-fiction

The sequel to Once, this is an excellent and yet heart wrenching story set in WWII Poland. As I mentioned in my review of Once, this perspective reminds me of THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS. Just as that book was difficult to read, and yet so important, I have similar sentiments with this one. Though I was dismayed at the events portrayed, I also had prepared myself for immense sadness upon reading this. At the same time, I am ready to open the conclusion to the trilogy, Now. I adore the charact ...more

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May 05, 2017 Anna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, childrens, 2017, jumanji-2017

Moral of the story: small children will get you killed in dangerous situations.

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May 06, 2020 Carsten rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: bryan alesna,

Shelves: young-adult, war, 7pla, fiction, survival

it all takes place in Poland where zelda and Felix fall of a train while they were heading to a death camp. then they were travelling across Poland to find Felix parents who they though were at a death camp along the journey they saw some horrible thing, this was not a real story but some stuff that happened was close to what actually happened in real life just because they were Jewish and even good people did bad things because they were jew. and if you turned the Jews over to the Nazis you wou ...more

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Jul 30, 2017 Malena rated it it was amazing

Then
Written by Morris Gleitzman
Genre: A historical fiction

‘Then’ is a part of a mesmerising series written by an amazing author, Morris Gleitzman. His first book, once, written in 2010, was the beginning of this series. This series is about young people trying to survive in Poland during WW2 when the Nazis took over. ‘Then’, starts with, Felix, a ten-year-old Jewish boy trying to escape from the terrible things that await him, and his companion Zelda, a loving 6-year-old who is determined to
Then
Written by Morris Gleitzman
Genre: A historical fiction

‘Then’ is a part of a mesmerising series written by an amazing author, Morris Gleitzman. His first book, once, written in 2010, was the beginning of this series. This series is about young people trying to survive in Poland during WW2 when the Nazis took over. ‘Then’, starts with, Felix, a ten-year-old Jewish boy trying to escape from the terrible things that await him, and his companion Zelda, a loving 6-year-old who is determined to stick by Felix's side forever, escaping from a train leading to a death-camp. Even if they didn’t escape from the train, they were always going to be in danger, like being turned in to the Nazis for a reward, being shot by a Nazi or starving to death. A polish woman takes them in, they now have a home, food, and they are loved. But there is danger everywhere, especially for Felix, who is tormented by a nasty German boy determined to strip him to see if he is Jewish. If he uncovers a Jew, he will collect a reward and Felix, Zelda and Genia, the polish woman, will be shot. So Felix and Zelda have to pretend to be people they are not to stay safe. There never seems to be any happy endings for Felix or Zelda. Will Felix and Zelda stay with Genia forever or will Felix have to run away in order to keep everyone safe?

Morris Gleitzman was born 9 January 1953. He is an English-born Australian and the author of children's and young adult fiction. His latest book in the "Once" series, Soon, was released in 2015. His most successful books are the Toad series.

Felix is a ten-year-old, Jewish boy, with a wild imagination. Felix loves books and telling stories, he especially loves books written by Richmal Crompton, his role model. Felix is doing everything he can to get to his parents.

Zelda is a six-year-old girl, with a bubbly personality and a strong mind. Zelda is my favourite character she is friendly and happy. Zelda loves Felix’s stories; she always wants him to tell her one. Zelda continuously says, “Don’t you know anything?” to Felix when he doesn’t understand things.

I loved this book so much, it is impossible to put down and it is full of twists and turns. In some parts of this book brought me to tears. I would rate it five stars, this book really helped me understand some of the terrible experiences that were faced during ww2 and the things that some people had to do in order to stay safe and healthy.

I would recommend this book to grade 6 and above. This book can take you into a different world, where you can experience the life in ww2.

I really enjoyed this book and I hope you do too!
...more

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Jul 10, 2013 Sally Kruger added it · review of another edition

Always on the lookout for interesting accounts of the Holocaust, I picked this one up a few weeks ago. It wasn't until I got it home that I discovered it is book #2 of a trilogy. Last night I decided to go ahead and dive into the middle of things and just see what happened. Well, I'm finished and off to order the other two books!

Felix is ten and Zelda is six. Felix is Jewish and Zelda is Catholic. They are both witnesses to the horror and violence of the Nazis. Having escaped from a prison camp ...more

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Apr 05, 2017 Kaija rated it it was amazing

I decided to read this book because it was recommended to me by lots of friends and I read some reviews on it and it seemed like a really good well rated book and I was interested in learning about the World War. I liked this book because it was a really well written book and was a on the edge of your seat book and I really enjoy those types of books because it makes me not want to stop reading. The book was good because it was telling people how bad the war was and how many innocent people were ...more

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Jan 23, 2020 Akshata rated it really liked it

This book was amazing but very, very sad. If you cannot handle something really depressing do not read this book. But it has humour so that it is not as sad. I loved it and recommend it to someone who sad but funny books and aged 9-12

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Jan 05, 2015 Anvay Dixit rated it it was amazing

Brought a tear to my eye. This book was phenomenal, despite being a comfort level, the story portrayed such horrific, yet hopeful emotions. This book was about the dreadful times of the 1940's

Morris Gleitzman, the author wrote this book on his imaginations, but very real. The story was about the journey of Felix ( a jewish boy) who set out with Zelda, to survive the Nazi Jew battle. As this book progressed, the story intensified which made me even more engaged to know what was going to happen ne ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. A woman adopts two jewish children during ww2 [s]	3	27	Feb 23, 2019 11:05AM
Great Book	1	1	Jun 24, 2014 06:23PM
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About Morris Gleitzman

Morris Gleitzman

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Morris began his writing career as a screenwriter, and wrote his first children's novel in 1985. His brilliantly comic style has endeared him to children and adults alike, and he is now one of Australia's most successful authors, both internationally and at home. He was born in England in 1953 and emigrated to Australia in 1969 so he could escape from school and become a Very Famous Writer.

Before Morris began his writing career as a screenwriter, and wrote his first children's novel in 1985. His brilliantly comic style has endeared him to children and adults alike, and he is now one of Australia's most successful authors, both internationally and at home. He was born in England in 1953 and emigrated to Australia in 1969 so he could escape from school and become a Very Famous Writer.

Before realising that dream, he had a colourful career as paperboy, bottle-shop shelf-stacker, department store Santa Claus, frozen chicken defroster, fashion-design assistant and sugar-mill employee. In between he managed to gain a degree in Professional Writing at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. Later he became sole writer for three award-winning and top-rating seasons with the TV comedy series The Norman Gunston Show.

Morris wrote a number of feature film and telemovie screenplays, including The Other Facts of Life and Second Childhood, both produced by The Australian Children's Television Foundation. The Other Facts of Life won an AWGIE Award for the Best Original Children's Film Script.

He also wrote live stage material for people such as Rolf Harris, Pamela Stephenson and the Governor General of Australia. Morris is well known to many people through his semi-autobiographical columns in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald magazine, Good Weekend, which he wrote for nine years.

But the majority of Morris' accolades are for his hugely popular children's books. One of his most successful books for young people is Two Weeks with the Queen, an international bestseller which was also adapted into a play by Mary Morris. The play had many successful seasons in Australia and was then produced at the National Theatre in London in 1995 directed by Alan Ayckbourn, and also in South Africa, Canada, Japan and the USA.

All his other books have been shortlisted for or have won numerous children's book prizes. These include The Other Facts of Life, Second Childhood, Misery Guts, Worry Warts, Puppy Fat, Blabber Mouth, Sticky Beak, Belly Flop, Water Wings, Bumface, Gift Of The Gab, Toad Rage, Wicked! and Deadly!, two six-part novels written in collaboration with Paul Jennings, Adults Only, Toad Heaven, Boy Overboard, Teacher's Pet, Toad Away, Girl Underground, Worm Story, Once, Aristotle's Nostril, Doubting Thomas, Give Peas A Chance, Then, Toad Surprise, Grace, Now, Too Small To Fail, and his latest book, Pizza Cake. Morris' children's books have been published in the UK, the USA, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia and Czechoslovakia, Russia and China. ...more