How many first lines of books can you recall, or author facts and release dates do you know off the top of your head? Four young local students are putting their skills to the test in the finals of the Kids’ Lit Quiz on 10 July.

This international literature competition for ages 10-13 brings together eager readers from seven countries: Australia, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, and the USA. Each country sends its best team, made up of four competitors, to Canberra Grammar School (CGS) to battle it out for bragging rights and a trophy.

A week of fun is in store for the young readers, who will all bunk together at CGS. Along with the competition and reader talks, they will get a taste of the best of Canberra. The local team will also stay on campus, eating and hanging out with other youngsters.

“They’ll be staying at our boarding house for a week, during which we will have different activities. We are going to the zoo, Questacon, different things like that. It will be a great opportunity for the kids to get to know other teams from other countries,” says Renee Jones, Head of Department Library Services.

CGS will be the first in Australia to host the competition. When they volunteered in November last year, they didn’t know they would have a team in the international finals.

“They’ve been after us to host it ever since CGS won the world final in 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand, but then a few things happened, and then COVID hit, so we didn’t end up getting there,” says Terri Robb, library technician and coach.

Winning the Canberra heat before the national finals, Australia’s finalists are Elliott Bennett, Benjamin McBride, Vinudi Rajapaksha and Avi Jain.

In the local finals, the teams had to provide written answers to questions. In the nationals and now in the international finals, they have to be the fastest to know the answer. The ‘Who Am I?’ style question starts vaguely before more hints are given.

“When he does a category, he comes up with something loose that connects things. It could be things like residences; houses or homes that have been written about in literature and then he will describe those in a question,” says Terri.

“In 2022 there was one on beards, like Mr Twits beard and Gandalf,” Avi says.

Founder and quizmaster Wayne Mills started the competition in New Zealand back in 1991 and writes thousands of questions every year. Australia joined the fun in 2012 and hasn’t looked back since.

Terri coached the winning Australian team in 2018 and is confident in her students this year. Only knowing two of the ten categories; authors and titles, she has recommended reading a wide range of literature ahead of the quiz.

“We are making all these different quizzes using the resources that Mrs Robb has provided for us, we’re also doing buzzer practice,” says Benjamin.

 “They are very sensitive; when we bump the table, they go off,” smiles Elliott.

When creating the questions, the quizmaster pulls from an enormous range of genres and literature types.

“It is about any book, biography and stories and stuff like that. Sometimes it is books that were made into movies, titles, authors, characters or random things involved in books. Like one time there were glasses,” says Vinudi.

“There’s always Harry Potter and nearly always Percy Jackson, which we all love reading. Mythology, the more common Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian and nursery rhymes even,” adds Benjamin.

First entering the competition in year four, Avi is competing for the third time, he brings to the table a wide range of fantasy, mythology and mystery knowledge. He may love reading now, particularly Percy Jackson, but it wasn’t always the case.

“I did read in kindergarten and stuff, but it was mainly for getting good grades at school. In year two I had a really good teacher and he inspired me to read and then I started reading more,” says Avi.

Also competing for the third time, year eight student Vinudi has been reading for as long as she can remember. First entering the competition in year six, she brings a vast knowledge of books to the quiz.

“I don’t really have a specialty; I do the random books. Sometimes I read a book from a long time ago and I just remember random facts about it. For the final, I was researching classics quite a bit and also mythology,” says Vinudi.

Not enjoying reading from the get-go, Benjamin discovered Narnia in year two and has been devouring novels since. Competing for the fourth and final time, Benjamin is well-read in mythology and epic fantasies.

“I’m also good at guessing who the authors are and obscure facts. In the final, there was a question and it started with this author the Guinness world record for being the youngest best-selling author and it was Christopher Paolini,” says Benjamin.

Announcing himself as the wildcard, Elliott is in his third year of competing. An avid reader since he first learned to read, he believes a book is best when it has a gripping storyline and the occasional surprise.

“Anything with a good story and premise will interest me. If it is good, I will continue. Something that keeps you gripped and doesn’t get tiring and doesn’t repeat itself,” says Elliott.

The cut-off age for the competition may be 13 but the reading list covers books written for readers well beyond their years. It is not uncommon for there to be questions about works by Shakespeare or series like Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games.

“It is different because the 13-year-olds competing are avid readers, they’re advanced readers, not the normal 13-year-old,” says Renee.

A theme that has been seen before related to opening lines. However, which is the best is a subject that is up for debate.

“The Graveyard Book; There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife,” says Elliot.

“The Book Thief; Here is a simple fact. You are going to die,” adds Benjamin.

“Anne of Green Gables; Mrs. Rachel Lynde lived just where the Avonlea main road dipped down into a little hollow. I know the first line is not that good, but I am just biased towards it,” says Vinudi.

A way of saying thanks for hosting, each team will bring with them a book to add to the CGS library collection, including the home team who are yet to decide on a novel by an Australian author they want to see on the shelves.

The young team is thrilled to have gotten this far in the competition and are looking forward to their friends and family supporting them in the final round.

“It is amazing that we came this far and that we are hosting but it’d be amazing [to win] because all of us have put in a lot of effort into this,” says Benjamin. “I think a highlight of the quiz will be meeting all the international students and getting to know them, as well as the quiz itself.”

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