Year 6 - Author Visit 

WARNING - MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS TO THE ONCE SERIES (sorry)

On the 21st August 2024 our school had Morris Gleitzman come to visit Year 6 and talk about how he wrote his books and about the inspiration for his bestselling book, Once. 

He said that he wanted a book about friendship and wanted that friendship to be challenged against the most unfriendly environment known to man. This would be a 10 year old Jewish boy venturing through Poland during WWII in 1942, witnessing the Holocaust unfold firsthand. Morris also talked about how his own grandfather could have been a part of the Holocaust, had he not stayed in England. Had his grandfather moved back to Poland and died during this tragic time in history, Morris’ father would never of been born, meaning Morris would never have become an Australian fan favourite author.

Later, he explained how his third book, in the Once series, was going to be on Felix’s 80th birthday, titled Now. He explained how it shows how much Felix would be affected by his tragic experiences as a child at such an old age. Morris knows that Felix has been through terrible things that a child, or even any person, should never experience. Though sad, Morris wanted to tell the story truthfully of what millions of Jewish kids had experienced and that many did not make it out alive.

He also told us that his incredible series of books ranging from Once to Always will sadly not be continued. However, happily, he may write a new series about Felix’s granddaughter, who is named Zelda, going to help her parents do some volunteer medical work in Africa helping people injured in war.

We had a great time learning about how Morris writes his books and what inspires him to write new stories and his journey as an author. 

Mr T also got to meet his author hero too, who he had met once when he was in Primary school!

Angus B and Angus M