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EDITOR Cara Mott
Hey there, readers! We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this issue of Kids Alive! If you would like to get your own copy of Kids Alive! delivered to your home every week, why not ask your parents or carers to take out a subscription* for you? Every week, Kids Alive! includes a cartoon Bible story, a competition, puzzles, jokes, comic strips and topical activities and articles for you to enjoy.
*A subscription costs just £4.33 a month (or a one-off payment of £52). This subscription offer applies in the UK and Republic of Ireland, with 51 copies delivered over 12 months. Please note that different prices apply to Europe and international orders.
DEPUTY EDITOR AND KA! JAM CO-ORDINATOR Ibukun Baku
Email kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk Post 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ
FOUNDERS William and Catherine Booth
GENERAL Lyndon Buckingham
TERRITORIAL LEADERS Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Major Julian Watchorn
Published weekly by The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory.
The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399. ISSN 1363-5662.
If you had a crayon that could make anything you draw come to life, what would you create? Would you design a mountain of delicious doughnuts? Perhaps you’d draw a pterodactyl with a saddle on its back so that you could fly all over the place! If you’re a thrill seeker then maybe you’d draw a roller coaster in your garden!
In Harold and the Purple Crayon, a little boy called Harold lives in a book. In his book, he owns a special purple crayon. It’s not made out of wax like any ordinary crayon. It’s made out of imagination and it makes anything Harold draws come to life!
One day Harold decides he wants to grow up and leave his book. Joined by his friends, Moose and Porcupine, he draws a doorway and steps into the real world! The real world is nothing like Harold’s imaginary one. It’s full of parks, cars and cities – it’s beautiful!
However, when Harold’s purple crayon falls into the hands of a man called Gary, Harold quickly realises that this world is in danger! Gary plans to use the crayon to bring his evil desires to life. Now Harold must team up with his imaginary and real-life friends to stop Gary and save the world!
IN CINEMAS NOW
You can watch ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ in cinemas now
Harold’s crayon is pretty powerful – it can do incredible things with a bit of imagination. Unfortunately Gary’s a bad guy and he’s got big, bad plans for that crayon! Maybe it would have been much safer for Harold to stay inside his book! Sometimes I feel like staying inside my house where it’s safe. Especially if I’ve seen or heard lots of stories about bad guys or sad situations! However, that’s not how God wants us to react to the bad things we see in our world. In Matthew 5:14–16 Jesus says that we are lights of the world. He doesn’t want us to hide away, he wants us to shine light into the darkness we see in our world.
We can do this by showing his goodness and kindness through our actions. So instead of hiding away, let’s go out and do what we can to make the world better!
Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Absolutely Terrible!
Thrown into a well. Accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Locked in prison. There’s no denying that Joseph went through a dif fcult time in this week’s Bible cartoon. In fact, dif fcult probably isn’t a strong enough word to describe it. I’d say it was absolutely terrible! He was held as a slave and kept in prison for years and years!
I’ve never been thrown into a well, arrested or put into a prison cell, but I’ve been through some times that have felt absolutely terrible. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have too! Maybe you’ve fallen out with a close friend or maybe you’ve been bullied. Perhaps you’ve moved to a new school and found it super hard to settle in.
When life is really tough you might feel like you’re alone. Joseph probably felt lonely at times. However, Joseph wasn’t alone – God was always with him. The Bible tells us that God looked after Joseph, even when he was sold into slavery and even when he was trapped in a dungeon!
Read the comment on the right about knowing that God is always with you
Just like God was with Joseph, he’s with you too! He’s with you every day you go to school and every time you go on holiday. He’s with you every time you brush your teeth and every time you go to bed. He’s with you on your best days and he’s with you when everything is absolutely terrible. When you’re in God’s family, you can trust that there’s nothing that you can go through that God won’t be with you for!
by Jacob Adams
Copycoat
Before Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, his dad, Jacob, gave him an amazing coat. Copy the picture of Joseph’s coat (below left) into the empty grid and then add lots of colour!
God Doing Things
Check out your Bible –Genesis 37, 39 and 41
Bumper Bible Breakdown
Did you know the Bible isn’t one big book? It’s actually 66 books put together to tell one big story of God’s great love. Join us as we look at each Bible book and discover why God made the world, what went wrong and how in the end God saved the world through his son, Jesus.
Elijah and Ahab
A prophet called Elijah told King Ahab of Israel that it would not rain for a few years because of Ahab’s evil ways. Elijah wasn’t lying! Three years passed without any rain. Then Elijah summoned Ahab to meet him on Mount Carmel so that Ahab could see that God was better than his false god, Baal. God performed an amazing miracle and then he made it rain again! However, Ahab still wasn’t interested in following God. Instead, Ahab tried to have Elijah killed so Elijah had to run away! God looked after Elijah and once even sent an angel to bring Elijah food when he was really tired. God also gave Elijah a servant, a future prophet called Elisha. Meanwhile, Ahab continued to do things his own way. This eventually led to his death in a battle, even though he was warned by a prophet that he would be killed!
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KA! JAM is the coolest Bible activity club around. As a member you’ll go on amazing adventures through the Bible learning about Jesus. Each activity sheet is filled with lots of great stuff about being a Christian. You’ll also receive our mini-mag, Chatterbox, which is filled with jokes, games and much more. And to top it off, there are loads of awesome prizes to be won! To join KA! JAM and complete the Bible activity courses online, go to salvationist.org.uk/kajam.
Or if you would like to receive the postal version, simply fill in the coupon below.
To join KA! JAM just fll in the application form and send it – along with two frst-class stamps – to: KA! JAM, 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. Applicants must be between 7 and 17 years old to join.
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apply for membership of Kids Alive! Jesus And Me. I understand that joining KA! JAM doesn’t mean I have joined The Salvation Army and that it is not a free subscription to Kids Alive!
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Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday t to Pick Out Patch
To see your name and birthday printed in a future issue of KA! email your full name, address and date of birth to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Remember to type ‘Happy Birthday to You!’ in the email’s subject box.
5 August
Lucas Frost – age 9
6 August
James Tulloch – age 11
Harley O’Donovan-Troth – age 9
8 August
Holly Gill – age 11
9 August
Abigail Mo – age 10
Have you had a look at page 11? I’m about to do some drawingwhy don’t you have a go? See if you can spot this version of me on another PAGE IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE.
Optical illusions use colour, light or patterns to confuse our brains – that means the illusions look different to what is actually there.
Check out this coloured cube. Do you think squares one and two are the same colour or different colours? Believe it or not, they’re exactly the same! Square two only looks different because it looks like it’s in a shadow. Your brain adjusts the colour you see to take the shadow into account.
What did the crayon say to the paper?
‘I’ve got you covered!’
Where do crayons go on holiday?
Colour-ado!
Why did the crayon cry? It was feeling blue!
What’s a crayon’s favourite game?
Draw and seek!
Crossword Clues
by Neil Locker
across:
3 Part that you might cut off meat. 5 Main meal. 6 Insect in a hive. 7 Remains of a sunken ship.
8 Group of singers. 11 Period of 24 hours. 12 Dusty old trap made by a spider. 13 Item of neckwear. down:
1 Use your teeth. 2 White wintry weather.
3 Costing nothing. 4 Farm bird that makes a gobbling noise. 6 Container used to collect water.
Crossword Clues
9 At one time. 10 Red precious stone. 11 Animal with antlers.
Answers on Page 2
Find the ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’-related words in the grid
danger
Identify the mystery item in the magnifying glass
reveal a new word in the green squares. Clue: Measure of liquid.
by Neil Locker
Did you hear about the artist that always took things too far? They didn’t know where to draw the line!
Ho ho, ha ha, he he!
Ho ho, ho ho!
COMPETITION
What do you love most about your friends? You might have lots in common with them, such as you enjoy or food that you think is absolutely delicious! Perhaps they’re really funny and they can make you laugh at the drop of a hat. Or maybe they’re really kind and they know how to cheer you up when you’re feeling down!
With True Friend Bear, the newest Care Bear, you can celebrate how amazing friendships can be! The belly badge on True Friend Bear shows two clouds joined together by a rainbow heart, which helps you to remember the love that you have for your friends.
True Friend Bear isn’t just a fantastic celebration of friendship – it’s also ridiculously cute! With its soft white fur and colourful ears and feet, you’ll want to give it plenty of cuddles. If you win this Care Bear, perhaps you’ll let your best friend give it a cuddle too!
For your opportunity to win your own True Friend Care Bear, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk
put ‘Care Bears Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 30 August when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by flling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: Care Bears Competition, 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ.
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DRAW AN AEROPLANE
After reading about Harold and the Purple Crayon on page 3 of this week’s issue, you might be itching to put your own drawing skills to the test. Although your drawings defnitely won’t come to life, that doesn’t mean you can’t become a brilliant artist! Use the bottom grid to draw a copy of the aeroplane design below, then give your plane a splash of colour! If you’d like to share your artwork with other readers, email your drawing to: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Make sure you write ‘Draw An Aeroplane’ in the subject box and give us your full name, age and address. Alternatively you can post your drawing to: Your Space, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. One last reminder, if you’re sending by post remember to fll in the details below so we know who you are. We send a gift to everyone whose colouring we publish, so don’t miss out!
Age:
Postcode:
Name:
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Living a healthy and an active lifestyle and caring for your physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Helping-Hand Appeal
In KA! JAM (pages 4 and 5) this week we meet Joseph and read part of his amazing story. Joseph was one of twelve brothers and was their father’s favourite son. Joseph’s brothers were so jealous of him that they planned to kill him. Ultimately, they chose not to do that and instead sold him into slavery in Egypt. Joseph was a victim of human cking. The Bible doesn’t use that term, but this is how we now understand what happened to Joseph.
What is Human Trafficking?
Human traffcking is a crime that still happens today. It involves moving or transporting people who are then tricked or forced to do things that are not safe and that they didn’t choose to do. These could include working for little or no money or stealing for other people.
Human traffcking can be an upsetting thing to think about, but knowing about it is important because it can help us protect ourselves and others.
How The Salvation Army is Helping
The Salvation Army (who publish Kids Alive!) is an international church and charity. It has a global network of people who are specially trained to understand and respond to human traffcking. They work together to share resources, skills and information to help stop human traffcking and support people who are affected.
Global Problems, Local Responses
Just as the skills, resources and needs vary from place to place, so do the types of anti-human traffcking projects that The Salvation Army supports. Here are a few examples.
Illustrations by Steve English
The Solomon Islands
During the 2023 Pacifc Games, which were hosted by the Solomon Islands, The Salvation Army ran a campaign to raise awareness about human traffcking and violence against women and girls. The team led activities with 16 communities over 16 days. Young people learned to identify safe and unsafe people and gained confdence to report unsafe behaviour.
When people don’t have a reliable way to earn money they are more vulnerable to traffcking. In Uganda, community groups meet to save money together. They can build up a shared pot of money that they can take loans from to start or grow a small business. One group took things a step further by working together to make and sell delicious fruit juice. They share the profts so everyone in the group can beneft.
Uganda Poland
Training sessions in schools and universities, open-air events and festivals, art exhibitions and giving out temporary tattoos. These are just some of the activities The Salvation Army in Poland has been doing to raise awareness about human traffcking in the capital city of Warsaw and the surrounding areas.
These examples show that when people team up they can be a powerful force for good!
What You Can Do
At home – share what you have learnt in this issue of Kids Alive! with your family. Pray together about the issue of human traffcking.
At school – talk to your friends about staying safe. If you think someone is being traffcked, tell a trusted adult such as a parent, carer or teacher.
At church – ask your church leaders about the HelpingHand Appeal and see if you can work together to raise money for The Salvation Army’s anti-traffcking work.
Helping-Hand Appeal
The Salvation Army’s Helping-Hand Appeal is an annual fundraising campaign and this year the focus is anti-traffcking. If you’d like to help raise money for The Salvation Army’s cking work, visit salvationarmy.org.uk/helping-hand-appeal. The website has fundraising ideas and you can also leave a message of hope for traffcking survivors.
Learn about anti-trafficking and how you can team up with others to make a difference!
If you’d like to star in our reader profle section we’d love to hear from you! Get a grown-up to send us an email using the address in the green box below. Then we’ll send you the forms to complete.
Age? 8.
Indi
Favourite colour? Purple.
Favourite food? Pizza.
Favourite sport? Gymnastics.
Favourite bit of Kids Alive! The jokes.
Favourite Bible story and why?
Noah’s ark, because he saves the animals and I like animals.
Favourite TV programme? Just Add Magic.
What do you want to be when you’re older? A vet.
Pets? Dog and cat.
Hobbies? Gymnastics, martial arts, swimming, choir and Brownies.
Tell us a joke. What’s a cat’s favourite colour? Purr-ple!
What special skill or talent do you have? Flexibility from gymnastics and martial arts.
Tell us something interesting about yourself. I am a blue belt in mixed martial arts.
G e t I n T o u c h !
The Kids Alive! team loves to hear from its readers. And guess what –other readers love reading your news! So why not get in touch? You can email or post your own colourings, drawings and letters. Or you could ask your Sunday school, church or corps leaders to email us or write to us with any news about the fun stuff you’ve been doing at your church or corps.
Email: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk
Post: Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ
Blue hair, blue grass and a blue ball… This Women’s FA Cup Final Colouring from Tilly, aged 6, ‘blue’ the Kids Alive! team away! Well done, Tilly!
Cool Colourings
Take a look at this marvellous Women’s FA Cup Final Colouring sent to us by Natalka, aged 9. We love the player’s yellow arms, it looks like she’s wearing gloves!
If you want a clue about how Joseph’s story will end in next week’s KA! JAM cartoon, check out this Jacob and Joseph Reunited Colouring sent by Mary, aged 8. This is fantastic, Mary!
This unbelieva-ball Women’s FA Cup Final Colouring was sent to us by Aidan, aged 12. We love all the extra details that Aidan has added, such as the goalposts!
Aurora, aged 9, has sent in this fab Women’s FA Cup Final Colouring. The stripy football kit looks awesome! Brilliant job, Aurora.
IT’S ROBBIE’S BIRTHDAY TODAY, ROBOT, AND BECAUSE HE REALLY LOVES FOOTIE…
…I’VE GOT HIM A NEW PAIR OF BOOTS.
I’VE GOT HIM SOMETHING TO DO WITH FOOTBALL AS WELL.
…ROBBIE TOLD ME THAT HE’S GREAT AT DRIBBLING! WHAT’S THAT, ROBOT?
A BIB! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROBBIE!
WELL, I THOUGHT A BIB MIGHT COME IN HANDY BECAUSE…
