Have you heard of the Kids Lit Quiz? To be honest, I didn't know anything about it until a few months ago. It sounds AWESOME, though! Here's what it's all about, according to one of their blogs:
The Kids Lit Quiz is an annual literature competition that tests the literary skills of children aged 10-13. It was created in 1991 by New Zealand lecturer, Wayne Mills, as a way to motivate and reward good readers – in the same way that sporty kids get prizes and accolades for their achievements. From small beginnings in New Zealand, the quiz has grown into an international event spanning seven countries and five continents.
The participating countries include Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, South Africa, USA and UK. Every year, after regional and national heats, each country sends one team to a World Final, where the best readers from the English speaking world battle it out for the title of World Champions. It is an electrifying competition that has been dubbed the ‘Olympic Games of Reading’.
There is apparently no reading list, and the quiz master can ask any question based on anything ever published for children (novels, poetry, fairy tales, myths, nursery rhymes, graphic novels etc). Hectic! They say the kids who are training for this competition are reading up to five books per week. Wow! (And when do they find time to do their homework?!)
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| The 2011 World Final in Hamilton, New Zealand |
I wish they'd had this kind of thing when I was young! I would have LOVED to participate in this competition (especially since I sucked at sports and had a major obsession with books. My primary school nickname wasn't Bookworm for nothing ;-)).
So where is this year's world final being held? Durban, South Africa
Have I been invited? Yes!
Am I feeling intimidated by the big name South African authors who will also be attending? (these people and these people) Absolutely!
But I'm super excited nonetheless. Exclusive Books will be there to sell the books of all the authors attending, so hopefully I'll get to be all cool and do some signing. Hehe ;-) AND GET STUFF SIGNED FROM OTHER AMAZING AUTHORS!
13 comments:
That's cool you've been invited! I wasn't very athletic either as a kid and wouldn't rocked this competition.
Congrats on the invite Rachel. Have fun and don't let the big names scare you too much. I wonder if Jamaica can enter this competition?
That's great Rachel- you'll have to tell us all about it!
Awesome that you were invited. I would have loved it as a kid too. Have fun!
Hey! That's awesome.
I have envy.
This sounds so awesome! I want to do something like this now. I wonder how the whole process works. Congrats on being invited to attend, Rachel!
That's awesome and sounds like lots of fun! Congrats on getting an invite!
Fun! Congrats. Can't wait to hear about it and to maybe see some pictures?! christy
Kids Lit Quiz rocks! Anyone who is in Durban and free at 1:30pm on 3rd July (tomorrow) is welcome to attend. It's at Durban Girls' College Musgrave Road and will last about 3 hrs - come along and enjoy!
That looks fantastic... and congrats on the invite. Pretty exciting.
Congrats, Rachel! Let us know how it feels to be there!
Wow! This is so neat Rachel. What an honor to be a part of something so meaningful for young readers. Have lots of fun and bring back pictures for us :)
Wow! That sounds awesome! I hope you have a blast!
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