100 Teams try Kids’ Lit Quiz Canada in 2015!

Kids’ Lit Quiz Canada has had another year of growth!

From our humble beginnings of 13 teams in 2011, reaching 100 teams in our fifth year was a huge milestone! For more information on how we got from there to here, see last year's review here.

Once again, we were thrilled to have excellent author participation in 2015. Many thanks to the Quizzards of Oz, Team Hirsute, The Inkslingers, Awesome Authors and Write Again - our intrepid author teams! Their names are listed at the end of this post, together with links to their websites.

It is wonderful for our KLQ readers to be in such fine company! Readers meet writers and writers meet their fans. I wonder how many KLQers will be inspired to become authors themselves?

Some of the fun at the 2015 Canadian heats

Letter from South Africa: A Parent's Joyful Discovery

Today's post is a letter from Jo-Ann, a South African mother of a Lit Quiz Kid to Wayne Mills, the founder and quiz-master of the Kids' Lit Quiz. 

Jo-Ann's first experience of the Kids' Lit Quiz captures the joyful discovery that many parents have had revealed to them through the Kids' Lit Quiz; the unexpected pleasure that comes with understanding what makes a Kids' Lit Quiz reader. 

Our thanks to Jo-Ann for her permission to to publish her letter here. I've edited it slightly to protect the privacy of Jo-Ann and her daughter.

To read more about the 2015 South African KLQ competition, see Marj Brown's report at the end of Jo-Ann's letter. You can also read an Australian educator's perspective on the benefits of the Kids' Lit Quiz, in Janine Hudson's piece, Hooked on Reading, in this post.  Finally, there's more "fan mail" from young readers who have enjoyed the Quiz as well as from authors, educators and other amazed parents at this link.

But, first, here's Jo-Ann's  letter.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

South Africa, 22 July 2015

Dear Prof Mills,

I know that you have many good books to read and questions to compose but I hope that you will have some time for this lengthy letter of thanks. I have delayed sending it so that it won’t seem like the manic mutterings of a recent Kids' Lit Quiz convert. However, even after a respectable wait following the South African final, I find that I am still completely enthused by our experience.

2015 in review by Wayne Mills

In July, following the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz world final in Connecticut, I asked Wayne Mills how he felt the year, and particularly, the World Final had gone. Here's Wayne's response which I've (finally!) edited to add links, photos and other information to complement Wayne's overview of the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz World Final.

Quizmaster Wayne Mills at the International Dinner following the Kids' Lit Quiz world final, 8 July 2015.

Hi Linda,

Sorry, I've been hiding away, holidaying in Pong Dang in the north of Thailand so I've been very quiet with my correspondence. It's been very hot but each afternoon is quenched or drenched with  spectacular electrical storms which leave plenty of time for reading (of course!) but also for contemplating the year just passed and for planning next year's program.

Lit Quiz Kids in the News

With the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz world final just around the corner, on 8 July 2015, the national teams are on their way to Connecticut, USA.

Click to enlarge

What a wonderful adventure they have in store, a timely reminder of the many opportunities that reading brings.  As readers, we always get to travel in our imaginations - even while we have to stay put - but for the kids in the world final teams, their love of reading has also provided this real-life travel opportunity (although, admittedly, the US team doesn't have far to travel this year!)

Here's a wish to all the teams, from Dr Seuss' Oh! the Places You'll Go:

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away! 

After the jump there's an update on who's who at the 2015 world final with links to the news that Lit Quiz kids have been making all around the world:

Kids Lit Quiz Australia: 2015 in review

This has been an exciting year for the Kids' Lit Quiz around the world and the 2015 Australian Quiz was no exception, bringing the "sport of reading" to even more Australian schools.  

For all our friends in the international Kids' Lit Quiz community and everyone at Reading for Australia, here's National Coordinator, Nicole Deans' review of this year's competition, a true celebration of good books and great readers.  

Thanks also to Queensland coordinator, Jenny Stubbs, for her photos and comments and to Wayne Mills, quizmaster and founder of the Kids' Lit Quiz (in New Zealand, 24 years ago) for his additional comments and observations. These have been added to Nicole's report, together with links to other related posts and resources.

The 2015 Australian team with Nicole Deans, Wayne Mills and their coach

Congratulations to the team from Orange High School, the 2015 national champions. Our first all-girl national team will now represent Australia at the world final in New Britain, Connecticut, USA in July.

With its purpose of encouraging and celebrating literacy in children aged 10 to 13 years, Kids' Lit Quiz Australia is delighted with its growth in 2015. It has been enormously satisfying to see so many children enjoy the benefits of reading while discovering an international community of like-minded readers.

From humble beginnings in 2012, with the one heat/final in Orange involving 13 teams and a handful of schools, Kids' Lit Quiz Australia has grown to 5 heats, 96 teams, 56 schools and 384 keen readers in 2015. As Wayne Mills says, "We were all delighted with the 39% increase in teams participating across the Australian competition of the Kids' Lit Quiz."

The enthusiasm shown by both the teams and their teachers/coaches shows the value the Kids' Lit Quiz adds to literacy programs in schools. With its focus on reading widely for pleasure by giving kids an open choice of reading matter and the opportunity for teamwork, the Kids' Lit Quiz offers a unique and fun way for schools to build literacy in their communities.

Thank you to all our wonderful sponsors, donors, supporters, hosts, authors and school communities without whom none of this would have been possible. We hope the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz Australia was an enjoyable experience for you too and that you all come back next year for more literary fun and games.

More Progress! Report 2

We are belting along! With the ACT heat decided yesterday, there's now only the Sydney heat tomorrow before the National Final on Saturday.

We had a record number of teams participating in the ACT yesterday

Quiz master Wayne Mills testing the ACT's best readers with questions from the 2014 world Final 

See who will represent the ACT in Sydney on Saturday after the jump. There are also some fantastic photos, taken by William Hall, which speak thousands of words in describing the fun and excitement of the "sport of reading".

It's our turn, Australia!

The 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz Australia competition kicks off today in Ipswich.

Good luck to all the teams! Chances are that you'll win a book prize or two, discover even more books to read, meet like-minded kids and have a great deal of fun with the "sport of reading".

Of course, none of this would be possible without our wonderful sponsors and supporters.

In Australia, as throughout the world, the Kids' Lit Quiz is a not-for-profit association. There are no paid employees - from founder and quiz master, Wayne Mills, to the national coordinators, the state coordinators, adjudicators and committee members, everyone's a volunteer, doing what they do because they believe literacy needs to be both encouraged and celebrated.

So far, in the four years the Kids' Lit Quiz has operated in Australia, we're still looking for major sponsors and our only income is the registration fee paid by each competing team. On this shoe-string budget, it would be extremely difficult to put on each year's competition without the generous support of our sponsors and donors so we'd like to take this opportunity to thank them all sincerely. We couldn't do it without you!

Not Long Now! 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz Australia

With the UK, US and Canadian competitions already decided and South Africa's about to begin, the 2015 Australian Kids' Lit Quiz is less than a month away!

The Australian team at the 2014 Kids' Lit Quiz world final in Falmouth, Cornwall in July

Australia

Schools in and around Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Ipswich and Orange should contact Nicole Deans (at kidslitquizaustralia@gmail.com) to register their best readers for the upcoming "sport of reading" tournament. It's a great way to promote literacy in school communities and to celebrate and reward good readers.

The team (of 4 readers aged between 10 and 13 years) which wins the Australian final (to be held at Monkey Baa's fabulous Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre in Darling Harbour, Sydney on Saturday, 14 March) is invited to the 2015 World Final, to be held in beautiful Connecticut, USA in July.

Click on the links to find out more about:

the 2015 Australian competition,
how the Kids' Lit Quiz promotes literacy in schools,
what previous participants and educators say about their Kids' Lit Quiz experiences,
Stripes and Stars: 2014 Queensland heat
Kings and Queens, Insects and Mice: 2014 NSW regional heat (Orange)
Cannibalism and other stories: 2014 ACT heat
The day the Kids' Lit Quiz came to south-west Sydney: 2014 Sydney heat
2014 Australian Final 

After the jump there's more information about what's been happening around the world in the 2015 Kids' Lit Quiz - great books are being read everywhere!

Kids' Lit Quiz Australia: 2015 Competition

In case you missed our earlier announcement, the 2015 Australian regional heats will be held between 5  and 13 March next year. The 2015 Australian national team will be decided at the National Final on 14 March at Monkey Baa Theatre Company's Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre in Sydney.

The Australian national team in Cornwall for the 2014 world final

 

The 2015 World Final will be hosted by Kids' Lit Quiz, USA in Connecticut in July next year.

 

2015 Dates, Times and Venues

QUEENSLAND

Ipswich heat, Thursday 5 March at Ipswich Girls Grammar School from 9.30am to 12.30pm.
Brisbane heat, Friday 6 March at Bulimba State School from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Orange heat, Tuesday 10 March at Kinross Wolaroi School from 10am to 1pm.
Sydney heat, Friday 13 March at Cerdon College Merrylands from 10am to 1pm.

ACT

Canberra heat, Wednesday 11 March at Canberra Grammar School from 10am to 1pm.

NATIONAL FINAL

Saturday 14 March at the Monkey Baa Theatre Company's Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre, Darling Harbour, Sydney from 1pm to 3pm.
 
Registration is now open and interested schools can contact Australian National Coordinator, Nicole Deans at kidslitquizaustralia@gmail.com with enquiries. There's also more information on this site at 2015 Australian Quiz and FAQ: Kids' Lit Quiz Australia. Also see this letter to teachers, librarians and teacher-librarians from Nicole Deans and the quizmaster and founder of Kids' Lit Quiz International, Wayne Mills  explaining how the Kids' Lit Quiz can build literacy in schools in a fun and exciting way.

After the jump there's some helpful information about the Quiz from Nicole Deans as well as links to reports on the 2014 regional heats and Australian final.

A Letter from Nicole and Wayne

Spring has sprung and lots has happened since I last posted.

I'll be posting some of the book news I've noted over the last month or so soon.  But first, there's some exciting news on the Kids' Lit Quiz Australia front!

The 2015 competition has been announced! In the week of 5 March, there'll be 5 heats (in Ipswich, Brisbane, Orange, Canberra  and Sydney) before the Australian final is held on Saturday 14 March at the Monkey Baa Theatre, Darling Harbour in Sydney.  There's more information at 2015 Australian Quiz and FAQ: Kids' Lit Quiz Australia.

After the jump, there's a letter from the Australian coordinator, Nicole Deans and the quizmaster and founder of Kids' Lit Quiz International, Wayne Mills to teachers, librarians and teacher-librarians explaining how the Kids' Lit Quiz competition can build literacy in schools in a fun and exciting way.

Welcome by Wayne Mills

Hello and welcome to the third online literary festival at Reading for Australia.

Once again, we are pleased to bring you terrific guest authors, book reviews by kids around the world, and, of course, lots of books for you to discover during this month-long reading adventure.

Kids' Lit Quiz Canada: 2014 in review

So far, this has been an exciting year for Kids' Lit Quiz Canada as we've read our (sometimes costumed) way through both snowstorms and fine weather in the search for our 2014 national team.

Congratulations to the team from Royal St George's College in Toronto.  These boys will now represent Canada at the Kids' Lit Quiz world final in Cornwall, England in July.

For all our friends in the international Kids' Lit Quiz community and everyone at Reading for Australia, here's a look back over the fun we had in the 2014 Canadian competition, a true celebration of good books and great readers on both the west coast and in east-central Canada.

Kids' Lit Quiz: 2014 Australian Final

Five rounds, seven teams and lots of excitement at the 2014 Australian national final on Saturday, 22 March at Mt Annan Christian College in the south-west of Sydney.

Quizmaster Wayne Mills flew in from Auckland with the official buzzers - made by the same people who provided technology for the Lord of the Rings films - and accurate to a 100th of a second. The buzzers were the first indication that the national final would differ from the regional heats of the Kids' Lit Quiz competition.

Kings and Queens, Insects and Mice: Orange 2014

The second heat of the 2014 Kids’ Lit Quiz in Australia was the third year Orange has hosted the Kids' Lit Quiz competition and lots of old friends were there to enjoy the excitement that is part of the ‘Sport of Reading’.

Kids' Lit Quiz Australia 2014: Orange regional heat

We've come a long way since 2012 when 13 teams participated in the first ever Kids' Lit Quiz in Australia - in Orange!

Stripes and Stars: Queensland 2014

The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss (1957, Random House, Houghton Mifflin)

"How many stripes on the Cat in Hat's hat?"

The question drew chuckles, in-the-air finger counting and some frowns from the 30+ teams of star readers assembled at the Queensland heat of the 2014 Kids Lit Quiz, held at the Ipswich Girls Grammar School on Tuesday, February 19.

It was one of 100 questions that challenged the breadth and depth of knowledge that was needed to compete in the "sport of reading".

More Kids' Lit Quiz News

from South Africa.  Australia's turn NEXT week!

Durban Heat

Published in The Witness, 12 February 2014.  Written by Stephen Coan, Photo by Ian Carbutt

 

 Pietermaritzburg Heat

Published in The Witness, 14 February 2014.  Photo by Jonathan Burton

It's the South African final in Cape Town on Saturday, following the Knysna and Cape Town heats today.   Good luck to all the teams!

The Australian competition starts on Tuesday in Ipswich.  Can't wait!

It's All Happening! Kids' Lit Quiz News

It's been a good, long, hot summer.

Bondi Beach, December 2013

Sand and surf, a drive across the Hay Plains, the discovery of the Alpine Book Trail and lots of hot afternoons spent indoors with the blinds drawn and a few good books to escape the baking sun.  A good, long, hot summer break which ended last week with a return to school and the promise of a new year's opportunities.

It's the year of the horse in the lunar calendar - a lucky year for 12 year olds as it's the first year of the horse they'll remember (you can read more about the lunar calendar in this post I wrote last May).   

Lots of kids competing in the 2014 Kids Lit Quiz are 12 year old Horses and they're certainly lucky to have had the opportunity to experience the fun and excitement of the 2014 Quiz since we kicked off in the United Kingdom last October.

The (inaugural) Hong Kong competition was decided in December and the US Quiz was held in January.  Last week, the Canadian national competition was decided and this week is South Africa's turn.  And then, (drum roll, please!), NEXT WEEK, it's time for Aussie kids to participate in "the sport of reading".

Australian Heats

It's still not too late for schools to participate in the Australian leg of the 2014 Quiz. 

If your school is interested, please contact Nicole Deans at kids'litquizaustralia@gmail.com as soon as possible.  Registrations can be made up to a week in advance of the relevant heat - which means you need to register this week for the Ipswich, Orange and Canberra heats and have a bit more time if you're interested in the Sydney heat.

The details are:

QUEENSLAND:

Tuesday, 18 February, Ipswich
Ipswich Girls Grammar School.  Time: 9.30am – 1pm

REGIONAL NEW SOUTH WALES:

Wednesday, 19 February, Orange
Kinross Wolaroi School. Time: 11am – 2pm

ACT:

Friday, 21 February, Canberra
Canberra Grammar School.  Time: 11am – 2pm

SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES:

Friday, 21 March, western Sydney
Mount Annan Christian School.  Time: 9.30am – 12.30pm

NATIONAL FINAL:

Saturday, 22 March, western Sydney
Mount Annan Christian School.  Time: 1.30pm- 3.30pm

Even if your school is not competing, you are very welcome to come along to one of the heats to see the Quiz in action if you're curious - you might even win an audience prize!

2014 Quiz Recap

This week, Wayne Mills, founder and quizmaster, is taking South African school children on a literary adventure.  We'll know the winner of the South African competition after the national final in Cape Town on Saturday.  In the meanwhile, good luck to all the teams competing this week in Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Port Elizabeth, Knysna and Cape Town.

Last week, Wayne was in Canada where everyone had to brave a snow storm and temperatures of  -20 degrees to get to the Canadian final in Toronto.

Teams from Ottawa, Hamilton, Bluewater, Toronto District, Independent and Catholic Schools and two from British Columbia competed in the Canadian competition, with the team from Royal St George's College becoming the first all-boys team to represent Canada.  Congratulations boys!  You'll join the US team, Sedgwick Middle School from Connecticut, the UK national team from the City of London School for Girls and the team from the Kellett School in Hong Kong at the world final in Cornwall, England in July.

The 2014 Canadian national team from Royal St George's College, Toronto

After Australia, it's New Zealand's turn, then Singapore in April (a pilot heat was held last year) before the world final in July.  You can see the full, world-wide timetable here.

Good luck to all the teams!  Regardless of your result, remember Wayne's observations on the importance of reading for pleasure (see the tab under the Reading for Australia header):

Over the 22 or so years I've been running the Kids' Lit Quiz, I've found that the students who get the most out of the Quiz have tended to be those who read widely for pleasure. This happens at every level of the competition from regional heats to the world final - whether or not their team goes on to the next level.

Those of us involved with the Quiz measure its success by the number of kids whose love of reading is enhanced and extended by their participation.

Only one team from each heat can win and, as in all sport, an element of luck as well as knowledge and an ability to perform in competition conditions determines the winning team. However, over the years, I've talked to many, many children after each competition who go home curious and excited about new books and wanting to re-read others mentioned in the course of the competition - regardless of their team's result on the day. Any disappointment is soon replaced by an eagerness to discover new books to read. These are the children who read for pleasure.

Welcome by Wayne Mills

Hello Everyone!  Welcome to the second online literary festival at Reading for Australia.

There are more terrific guest authors, more book reviews by kids, more discussions and comments and, of course, many more books to discover during this month-long reading adventure!

The winning team in Singapore from St Hilda's Primary School.  October 2013

Good Books Not to be Missed!

Wayne Mills is the founder and quizmaster of the Kids' Lit Quiz.  He is passionate about kids reading for pleasure and works to ensure that readers are challenged to read widely across a range of literature.

Over the years, Wayne has read thousands of children's books and it is hard for him to list just a few of his favourite books.  Some of the books he recommends are included in the "Good Books Not to be Missed" lists he provides to students taking his courses at the University of Auckland.  The lists given here are his 2013 Reading Lists.

Welcome from Wayne Mills, MNZM, International Quizmaster

Hi Everyone

Congratulations to Canberra Grammar School (coach: Janine Hudson and team: James, James, Nick and Leo) for defending their Australian national title and once again vying for honors on the world stage of the Kids’ Lit Quiz™.

What a wonderful initiative your parents and friends have started up here – Reading for Australia. It’s a place where readers can exchange and share their love of books with each other and engage in discussions with writers, illustrators and other creators who love books. It’s the sort of place I wish existed when I was a book-obsessed kid!