Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. Why does Felix have difficulty finding his seat after being served soup?

2. What sympathetic act does Felix try to do for Dodie?

3. What is Felix worried about in Chapter 2?

4. What name does Felix call the group of Marek, Telek, Adok, and Borys?

5. What does Felix notice has changed about his village?

6. What items does Mr. Kopek give Felix?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 1, Felix believes that he receives a sign. What is this sign? What does he think it means?

2. What is Felix’s prized possession? Why is this item significant to him, and what does he use it for?

3. What surprising information does Mother Minka reveal to Felix? How does Felix respond?

4. Describe Felix’s motivation for leaving the orphanage. What is his mission?

5. Summarize Felix’s adventures as he travels from the orphanage to his village.

6. What does Felix learn about his family’s whereabouts when he reaches his village?

Paired Resources

“The Convent Children: The Rescue of Jewish Children in Polish Convents During the Holocaust”

• The World Holocaust Remembrance Center provides a detailed overview of the Catholic Church’s role in rescuing Jewish children in Poland during WWII.
• The information here connects to the theme of Altruism Among the Persecuted.
• How does Felix’s experience living in the convent compare with the real children’s experiences described in the article?

“Book Burnings in Germany, 1933”

• PBS’s American Experience article highlights the significance of book burning and the power of words.
• The information here connects to the theme of The Power of Storytelling.
• Based on the article as well as the novel, why would the Nazis want to burn books?

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. What does Felix see on the horizon in Chapter 6?

2. Where do Felix and Zelda spend the night?

3. Which cruel words do the people in the city shout at Felix and Zelda’s group as they walk?

4. What do Barney and the children ask Felix to do?

5. Where is Felix living in Chapter 10?

6. Why does Felix believe that his family’s visa application to the United States was denied?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who is Zelda? Describe the circumstances in which Felix meets his new companion.

2. Who discovers Felix and Zelda in Chapter 7? What are they forced to do?

3. What do the Nazi soldiers begin to do as the group enters the city? What happens to Felix and Zelda?

4. Who is Barney? What is Felix’s initial impression of him?

5. What information does Felix learn about Adolf Hitler? Why does this information surprise him?

Paired Resources

“Janusz Korczak”

• The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust provides information on Janusz Korczak, the man who inspired Gleitzman’s character Barney.
• The information in this resource connects to the theme of Altruism Among the Persecuted.
• Based on the novel as well as the article about Janusz Korczak, compare and contrast Korczak and Barney.

Photographs of the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw, Poland

• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has compiled photographs documenting the living conditions in the Warsaw ghetto.
• The information in this resource connects to the theme of Altruism Among the Persecuted.
• Compare and contrast the novel’s description of the Warsaw ghetto with the photographs. What examples of altruism do you see in the photographs?

Chapters 11-17

Reading Check

1. What lesson did Felix learn from his dad that he uses in Chapter 11?

2. Why does Barney help treat a Nazi soldier?

3. Why do the children try to look out into the street?

4. Where does Felix think all the Jewish people are going in Chapter 13?

5. Which two items does Felix retrieve to help Zelda feel better?

6. What does Felix give to the Nazi soldier on the train platform?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Felix persuade Barney to do in Chapter 11? How does Barney respond?

2. What difficult news does Felix tell Zelda? How do Zelda and the other children respond?

3. What gift does Barney give Felix? What is his reasoning for giving Felix this gift?

4. What does Felix learn about Zelda’s father? Does this change his opinion about whether she deserves to be helped?

5. What risk do Felix and some of his companions decide to take while riding on the train? What is the outcome?

Recommended Next Reads

Then by Morris Gleitzman

• This sequel to Once follows Felix and Zelda as they continue their journey.
• Then explores the same themes found in Once: The Power of Storytelling, Altruism Among the Persecuted, and Innocence, Naiveté, and Denial.
• Shared topics include Jewish resistance to Nazi ideology, love and friendship, survival, and WWII Poland.

Night by Elie Wiesel

• Wiesel’s 1958 autobiographical account centers on his life as a young boy in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
• Shared themes include Altruism Among the Persecuted and Innocence, Naiveté, and Denial.
• Shared topics include Jewish resistance to Nazi ideology, survival, and WWII Poland.
• Night on SuperSummary