“Like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (rev. 9/06), this Holocaust parable plays its main character’s naiveté against readers’ likely knowledge of the historical realities, but here the juxtaposition is believable and not at all precious; like The Book Thief (rev. 3/06), the novel extols the power of storytelling in the face of tragedy, but Once pits Felix’s stories against even deeper ugliness. ... Gleitzman manages to find a grain of hope in the unresolved (and likely dire) conclusion, but this is the rare Holocaust book for young readers that doesn’t alleviate its dark themes with a comforting ending.”—The Horn Book, Starred Review
“This gripping novel will make readers want to find out more”—Booklist
