Shared Reading - Once - Morris Gleitzman

Chapter 3 (p. 17)

‘Once I saw a customer, years ago, damaging books in Mum and Dad’s shop. Tearing pages out. Screwing them up. Shouting things I couldn’t understand.’

1. Identify 2 things that unsettle Felix and explain how his thinking starts to change.

2. Felix has plans to help his Mum and Dad. What are they and what motivates him to take action?

3. Theme: Kindness - How is this shown in this chapter? Explain.

4. Reflection: On the “truth”. How might knowing the truth (about what could have happened to his parents) have made a difference to Felix at this point? Recall some moments when the truth begins to dawn on him or he suspects his impressions may be false. At the end of the novel, what do you imagine he thinks the truth really is?