kiddo corner! Henry Reads WO R DS —
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Resident Kiddo Book Reviewer: Henry Williams, 9 years
Hi, I’m Henry. I love reading (I always have a book in my hand, except when I’m eating dinner but that’s only because my mum won’t let me!), playing Minecraft and cricket. I have a twin sister and a little sister who drive me kinda crazy but I love them anyway (shhh...don’t tell them that).
1. What are Santa’s helpers called? 2. What date is Christmas Day? 3. What form of transport does
Santa use?
I know what you’re thinking, oh gee a 9 year old boy reviewing the Harry Potter series…how original! But hear me out.
Potter. I groaned. Not this again. But out of sheer desperation for something to read, I gave in.
Every Book Week at school there are about 20 Harry Potters, a few Hermiones and even the odd Dobby. One of the Harry Potter movies seems to have been on TV over the weekend evenings for…well, most of my life. But up until now, I’ll be honest, I’ve kind of avoided it.
And what d’ya know… where the movies haven’t been able to get me, the books DID!
5. Where does Santa Claus live?
I’ll spare you the details of the plot line, you probably have some idea already (if you don’t, you must have been living under a rock). This is for the kids who just haven’t been sucked into the Harry Potter movies and don’t get the hype…what this has taught me is that sometimes movies just DON’T, CAN’T, WON’T EVER, live up to the books. If you haven’t enjoyed the movie adaptations, don’t rule out reading instead, you may just find the books are a hundred times better. Now I’ve sure got some catching up to do!
7. How many times does Santa
Recently though, I ran out of books to read at home. Seems unlikely, I know. But I’ve gone through all my fave series about a dozen times and it had been school holidays so I hadn’t got to the library to borrow any more. Mum suggested Harry
Harry Potter, The Complete Collection by J.K Rowling RRP $120
Meet the makers Meet Teenage Joans, a music making duo who hail from the Northern suburbs of Adelaide, consisting of Tahlia Borg and Cahli Blakers. They formed their two-girl garage rock band while still at high school, releasing their first single By the Way in 2019. It set them up well for their second single release Three Leaf Clover which saw them burst onto the national music scene winning @triple_j’s 2020 Unearthed High Award. Both Tahlia and Cahli have pursued their love of music from a young age. They cite Australian indie bands Waax, Camp Cope, and Tired Lion as musical influences, and describe their own particular sound as juicebox punk-pop! The duo have received multiple awards, including South Australian Live Act of the Year in 2019 at the National Live Music Awards. Recent releases have included Something About Being Sixteen, Ice Cream, and Taste of Me (2021). Tahlia began playing drums at the age of 7 and by 14 she was learning piano via YouTube, so she could create her own backing tracks. Cahli began her musical journey at age 5, picking up a violin which
she switched out to a guitar around the age of 10. Her Dad is a musician who has played in local punk band Hells Hoist for decades, which is certain to have had an influence on her musical taste. Tahlia and Cahli first crossed paths through their involvement with @northernsoundsystem (NSS) – a youth, music, and creative industries facility located in the heart of Elizabeth in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. Tahlia attended the NSS ‘Girls to the Front’ workshop, which she says was important for boosting her confidence. Cahli was doing work experience at NSS around this time with the two quickly bonding over their love of music.
4. Traditionally, how does Santa get
into the house on Christmas Eve?
6. Who tried to steal Christmas?
say ‘Ho’? 8. What animal pulls Santa’s sleigh? 9. What colour is Rudolph’s nose? 10. What are the traditional
Christmas colours?
Answers: 1. Elves, 2. 25 December, 3. Sleigh, 4. Through the chimney, 5. The North Pole, 6. The Grinch, 7. Three, 8. Reindeer, 9. Red, 10, Red and green
I’ve tried to get into the movies. I might have even got the whole way through the first one at some stage. But (unpopular opinion) I’ve never really enjoyed them. So even though I always have a book in my hand (and three in my bag), whenever anyone asks me if I’ve read Harry Potter, the answer has always been, ‘nup’. If the movies don’t suck me in…surely the books don’t stand a chance.
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Kids Quiz
Tahlia says that she “personally enjoys creating and writing music that can be interpreted in different ways to each listener. It’s so interesting to think that a song written about your personal experience can relate and be interpreted by so many other people across the world." Cahli says the one thing that really helped her at the start was “to fake my confidence until I built up real confidence! Fake confidence is just as effective, and when you trick your brain into thinking, hey yeah, I actually am this really cool talented human, then eventually you start to believe it!” One of their favourite things to do when they’re writing songs together is to juxtapose serious topics with childlike metaphors. They describe their lyrics as a little nostalgic; that although they feel like something a young person can consume, they also have a heavier meaning that other young people can relate to as well. Follow @getaroundit_sa on Instagram to see what other young South Australians are up to, or DM to submit a candidate. Why not nominate yourself, or another young person you know who would make a great addition to the Get Around It showcase?