Kids' Book Review: Creating a Welcome

A letter from Tania McCartney of Kids' Book Review about a great initiative taking place in April.

Children's Book and Art Sale in support of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

Dear friends and colleagues,

Kids' Book Review, in conjunction with children’s author Anna Branford, are delighted to announce a very special initiative – Creating a Welcome – in support of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), a community organisation working directly with asylum seekers to provide basic necessities such as food, housing, healthcare and legal assistance. Creating a Welcome encourages creative people to use their hands, hearts and minds, as well as their skills and convictions, to effect social and political change.

The Day the Kids' Lit Quiz came to South-West Sydney

The fourth and final heat of the Kids' Lit Quiz Australia's 2014 competition was held at Mount Annan Christian College on Friday, 21 March.

Twelve very excited school teams of keen readers, representing seven schools from all over Sydney, arrived at Mount Annan for the first-ever Sydney heat of the "sport of reading".

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".

Cannibalism and Other Stories: ACT 2014

Copyright, William Hall, 2014.  All rights reserved.

"What was the name of the castaway who tells his companion, Friday, that cannibalism is wrong?"

This question, the first of ten in the opening category of "cannibalism", kicked off the 2014 ACT regional heat of the Kids' Lit Quiz competition on Friday, 21 February.  Excited whispers immediately followed as each team conferred on the correct answer and we were up and away in the third heat of the third year of the Kids' Lit Quiz in Australia.  You can read about the short (but glorious!) history of the Kids' Lit Quiz in Australia here.

Who would have have thought so many children's stories would feature cannibals - from Robinson Crusoe to Pippi Longstocking, to Jack and the Beanstalk to The Odyssey?  And who would have thought that so many of the participants would know these stories?  One team scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in this category (as the mother of half that team I'm both proud and a little disturbed that my twin sons appear to be experts on cannibals!)

Remember, there's no reading list because the Kids' Lit Quiz is all about reading for pleasure so the kids participating in the Quiz know the answers from their reading interests and general knowledge, not from swotting. That's what makes the Quiz fun - it really is the sport of reading.  The more you read, the more fun you'll have.

Copyright, William Hall, 2014.  All rights reserved.