Kids Alive! – formerly The Young Soldier – Issue No 7539
14 november 2026
The world's longest-running publication for children!
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
50P/60c
tyle and caring and an active lifes Living a healthy mental and spiritual well-being. l, for your physica
this week...
Winter Safety
this week...
Moses and the Tabernacle
Netflix Animation © 2026
ROM 20 NOVEMBER F X LI F ET N N O E ABL AVAILAVAILABLE ON NETFLIX SOON
Kids Alive! is available online – go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive KA - p1 - 14 November.indd 1
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What’s Inside?
Puzzle Answers Turn this page upside down to read the answers
3
Steps and Ed’s Bit
4–5
KA! JAM
6
Bible Beasts and Where to Read About Them
7
Kiddo
8–9
Giggle in the Middle
10
Fact-Finders Competition
11
Creative Corner
DOWN: 1 Lime. 2 Solve. 3 Gnat. ACROSS: 1 Last. 4 Melon. 5 Beat. ANAGRAMS 6 Crayon. 9 Tool. 10 Road. 11 Magi. DOWN: 1 Glow. 2 Swim. 3 Grid. 4 Pillow. 8 Alter. 11 Mow. 12 Orange. 13 Nil. ACROSS: 3 Gap. 5 Flower. 6 Cow. 7 Medal. CROSSWORD G10. H3. PAGE PUZZLE: A6. B11. C2. D16. E5. F14. GIGGLE IN THE MIDDLE PATCH’S PROBLEM: Page 6.
12–13 KA! World
Love our comic? Check out Morning Praise with Kids Alive! on Salvationist Radio every Saturday and Monday at 7.30–8am and every Sunday at 9–9.30am.
14–15 Your Space 16
Patch’s Pals: Pirate Pete and His Jolly Crew
Subscribe* to
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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. Ask your parents or carers to go to sps-shop.com/kids-alive, call 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email subscriptions@satcol.org to set up a subscription.
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e Availabl online!
*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.
EDITOR Cara Mott DEPUTY EDITOR AND KA! JAM CO-ORDINATOR Ibukun Baku EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jacob Adams GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Philippa Elliott and Brandon Caiza PROOFREADER Chris Horne CONTACT US Phone Office – 020 7367 4910 Territorial Headquarters Switchboard – 0845 634 0101 Email kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk Post 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ FOUNDERS Catherine and William Booth INTERNATIONAL LEADERS General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham TERRITORIAL LEADERS Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Major Andrew Stone Published weekly by The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory.
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
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.
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Netflix Animation © 2026
o you know the story of Cinderella? She’s the girl with the super-mean stepsisters, right? If you think that you know this story inside out then think again, because there’s a brand new film on Netflix called Steps that’s about to turn the whole NOVEMBER 20 OM FR IX FL ET story upside down! AVAILABLE ON N Cinderella’s stepsister, Lilith, is sick of living in Cinderella’s shadow and always feeling like she doesn’t fit in. She’s not even been invited to the ball that the prince is throwing! So Lilith steals the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand and crashes the royal ball with her sister, Margot! Unfortunately, Lilith’s actions break the Cinderella story as we know it and doom the kingdom – they’re now going to be ruled by a mean girl called Priscilla who’s taken her opportunity to seize the throne! So Lilith and Cinderella must put their differences aside and team up together to save the kingdom and the fairy-tale ending for Cinderella. Of course, that won’t be easy – on their epic quest they’ll have to fight biker trolls, outrun evil henchmen and escape the Screaming Woods!
Find out if Cinderella and Lilith get their happily ever after when ‘Steps’ arrives on Netflix on 20 November
I’ve just watched Steps with my daughters and we really enjoyed it. It was so interesting to twist the fairytale and think about why Cinderella’s stepsisters might have behaved as they did. I won’t give any spoilers away so you can enjoy Steps for yourself, but during the film Cinderella and Lilith discover they’re not that different. They’ve both made mistakes and they’ve both done things to hurt the other. Now they need to forgive each other and fix the hurt they’ve caused. We all get things wrong sometimes. Maybe you have a friend who’s done something to hurt you. Or maybe you’ve hurt someone else, whether you meant to or not. In situations like this, Jesus wants us to choose forgiveness, because that’s exactly what he does for us. Is there anyone you need to say sorry to or forgive this week? Take that first step to hopefully fixing a friendship!
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God’s Special Family Moses and the Tabernacle
Check out your Bible – Exodus 25:10-22; 35:10-19; Numbers 9:22
Kids Alive! follows the Salvation Army Children and Youth’s Explore it! resource – go to salvationist.org.uk/resources/discipleship/explore-it
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Steve English
06/11/2026 10:14
W
Read the comment to the right about how we can know that God is with us
God’s Tent
ihen I was a teenager, I went camping with isome friends. On our first night, we were hit by a storm – and our tent was so terribly made that it couldn’t keep out any water. By the end of our holiday, our tent could have been used as a paddling pool! In this week’s Bible cartoon, we’ve learnt about a tent which was far more impressive than the awful one I went camping in! This incredible tent was called the Tabernacle, and it was brilliantly designed. That’s because the instructions for making it came from God! God’s people, the Israelites, were told to rebuild the Tabernacle every time they stopped on their journey through the wilderness. They also had to construct something known as the Ark of the Covenant. This was a special box which held the stone tablets that the Ten Commandments were carved into. It might sound strange that God told his people to build a box and a tent – but the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle shared an important meaning! They reminded the Israelites that God was with them! Nowadays, we don’t need to make tents or arks to know that God is with us. Jesus is all the proof we need! Jesus made a way for us to join God’s family. This means that if we trust in him, we can be sure that God is with us, no matter what we’re facing. So put down your tent poles, pegs and mallet – and follow Jesus!
by Jacob Adams
Ark Art
In Exodus 25:10-22, the Israelites were given incredibly detailed instructions for what the Ark of the Covenant should look like. Check out that passage in the Bible, and then have a go at drawing the Ark in the space below! You’ll quickly see just how tricky God’s instructions were to follow. Hint – check out the Bible cartoon to see what the Ark should look like!
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Bible Beaststo
Do you love animals? Don’t you agree that they are a wonderful part of God’s creation? Did you know there are plenty of creatures that play special roles in the Bible? Let’s read a story from the Bible that’s being told by one of the beasts that was actually there!
Delighted Donkey
and Where Read About Them
Matthew 21
STEVE ENGLISH
. .. n i Jo
‘One day, two strangers practically kidnapped my mum and me. They told our owner that, “The Lord needs them.” I had no idea who the Lord was or what his plans were, but our owners seemed to be fine with the answer, so they let us go! When we stopped at a house, the strangers placed some clothing on us and then a man sat on me. I had never been ridden before, so it felt strange at first, but I focused on a point on the ground and just kept moving, one step after another. I’d been concentrating so hard that I hadn’t noticed a large crowd surrounding us. Everyone looked happy and they were waving palm leaves, placing their clothes on the ground for me to walk on and shouting praises. We travelled all the way to Jerusalem – it was incredible!’
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 fill in the application form and send it – along with two first-class stamps – to: KA! JAM, 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. Applicants must be between 7 and 17 years old to join.
Name:
Date of birth:
Address: Postcode: Boy or girl: I, (signature)
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Do you attend a church, and if so, which one? 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!
PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS. 06/11/2026 10:37
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To n g u e Tw is t e r s
Patch’s ? Problem... ?
See if you can say this terrifically tough tongue twister 10 times!
Baby buggy, baby buggy, baby buggy
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HELLO, READERS, I’VE LOST A VERY IMPORTANT OBJECT SOMEWHERE IN THE ISSUE. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HELP ME FIND IT? I HAVE A CLUE OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE HERE.
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the globe there are magnificent things Our world is pretty awesome! All around jet and travel the world with us! to see. So jump in our imaginary jumbo
Uluru This remarkable rock can be found near the middle of Australia. It used to be called Ayers Rock, but now it’s known by its traditional Aboriginal name, Uluru. It’s a sacred and special place for the local Aboriginal people. Some people have tried to climb Uluru, but we wouldn’t advise it – people have died trying and it’s considered disrespectful to the local people. Towering over the landscape, Uluru is 348 metres high – that’s taller than the Eiffel Tower! One of the most amazing facts about Uluru is that it looks different colours depending on things such as the time of day and where the Sun is positioned. It can look red, brown, orange or even a bit lilac!
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What do little mice read? Fairy tails!
steps WORDSEARCH Find the ‘Steps’-related words listed below in the grid
CINDERELLA ROYAL BALL LILITH PRINCE PRISCILLA FAIRY GODMOTHER FROG BIKER TROLLS HENCHMEN MARGOT CRACKTOR SCREAMING WOODS lla Why did Cindere e get kicked off th ? football team running Because she kept ll! away from the ba
Why did the shoe go to school? To learn new steps!
PPAAGGEE PPUUZZZZLLEE Alive!’ to work out Explore this week’s ‘Kids es are taken from which pages these imag
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Z Q R E H T O M D O G Y r C J V B W F A C H S R O N I K M R N R P L R i Y E Q N O T U G L I O A A M P G D W X o V L T F L H Y R Z E R T A I K e B C B D i T R F G T C S A N H I R N J E k H A D L E N E P Q C R L S R o L H K T U V W E X L C O Y I P R I S C I L L A W B Z A S C R E A M I n g
Why did Cinderella take up running? To catch the clock!
What’s Cinderella’s favourite dessert? Pumpkin pie!
A
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C
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G
H
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age
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Crossword Clues
across:
3 Interval, or distance between two things. 5 Bloom of a rose, for example. 6 Dairy farm animal. 7 Olympics award. 8 Change something. 11 Cut a lawn, for example. 12 Citrus fruit. 13 Score of zero in football, for example.
down: 1 Gleam or shine. 2 Do the doggypaddle, for example. 3 Part of a crossword puzzle. 4 Cushion for someone’s head. 6 Wax colouring stick. 9 Screwdriver or hammer, for example. 10 Highway or street. 11 The three wise men. by Neil Locker
ANAGRAMS 1
The answers to this puzzle are all anagrams of the clues. Rearrange the letters to find the new words.
2
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3
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4
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S CLUE s: acros
1 Salt 4 Lemon 5 Beta
down:
5
1 Mile 2 Loves 3 Tang
B by Neil Locker
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FACT-PFEITNITDIOENRS COM
I
t takes a lot of work to go on an incredible adventure! Before launching off into space, astronauts need to become as physically fit as they possibly can and brush up on their science knowledge. And if an ocean enthusiast wants to go on a deep-sea adventure, then they need to have lots of scuba-diving experience. Winners of this week’s competition will be going on an unforgettable adventure – but all they’ll need to do to prepare is find a comfy place to sit! That’s because they’ll have their own copies of all four books in the new Fact-Finders series. With these books, they’ll get to explore the wonders of the universe, the mystery of the ocean, the abundance of the rainforest and all that our incredible planet has to offer. Filled with bite-sized information, colourful illustrations and some ridiculously fun stories, these graphic novels will engage every budding science enthusiast and adventure lover! For the opportunity to win your own bundle of The Fact-Finders Series, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Remember to put ‘Fact-Finders Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 11 December when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by filling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: Fact-Finders Competition, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ.
How many books are thereW in The Fact-Finders Series? IN! Two Three Four Name: Address: ____________ Postcode:
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Age:
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Remember, the best way to enter is to email your entry to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk 06/11/2026 10:33
WRITE YOUR OWN FAIRY TALE Once upon a time… Once upon a time… Once upon a – OK, we actually can’t decide what should happen next in our story! The Kids Alive! team was hoping to write a fab fairy tale to celebrate the release of Steps (check out page 3 to find out more), but we’re finding it fairy … we mean, fairly difficult to come up with anything interesting. Can you help us out by writing your own fantastic fairy tale in the space below? If you’d like to share your story with other readers, email your fairy tale to: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Make sure you put ‘Write Your Own Fairy Tale’ in the subject box and give us your full name, age and address. Alternatively, you can post your fairy tale to: Your Space, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. One last reminder, if you’re sending by post remember to fill in the details below so we know who you are. We send a gift to everyone whose fairy tale we publish, so don’t miss out!
Name:
Age:
Address: Postcode: Go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive to download a printable PDF of this page KA - p11 - 14 November.indd 1
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lifestyle, and caring ve ti ac d an y th al he a Living tual well-being iri sp d an l ta en m , al ic ys for your ph
Winter Safety It’s almost winter – the season in which people in the UK will celebrate Christmas and count down to the start of 2027 on New Year’s Eve. In the Kids Alive! office, we’ll be getting excited about the birthdays of two members of our team! With so many awesome things taking place, winter might just be our favourite season of the year.
Change is Coming As well as being a season of celebration, winter also comes with some big changes. One major change we’re sure you’ll notice is that the days will become shorter (which means that the Sun rises later and sets earlier). In fact, Monday 21 December will be the shortest day of the year. As we get closer to that day, you might find yourself getting ready for school while it’s still dark outside.
The weather will also become a lot colder, with temperatures often dropping below freezing during the night. This means you might find yourself feeling chilly when you go for a walk outside.
Stay Safe With all of the changes that come with winter, it’s super important that you learn how to stay safe during this season. One way of staying safe during winter is by learning to…
Be Bright, Be Seen Since the UK is darker for longer during winter, there’s a good possibility you’ll be walking outside in the dark. That’s why an organisation called Think! wants you to know how to ‘be bright, be seen’. What this means is that you should wear bright, colourful clothing when outside. This includes during the day, but it’s especially important when you’re outdoors while it’s dark. This is so that cars can see you when you’re walking near or on the road. If you’re wearing bright clothing, including items such as high-vis vests, drivers are more likely to be able to see you!
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What to Wear If you want to put together a brilliant outfit to wear that will make you as bright as a firework, then you might want to consider asking your parents or carers to get you a reflective sash. You can wear this while you’re walking to or home from school. You also might want to look out for coats or school bags with reflective strips on them, if you’re looking to buy a new one! Plus, it’s always handy to have a torch with you when you’re out and about, so you can see where you’re going. To test whether you’re ready to be bright and be seen this winter, play the ‘Be Bright, Be Seen’ game by heading to think.gov.uk/resource/be-bright-be-seen-game.
More Tips Now you know how to ‘be bright, be seen’ this winter, here are a few more tips that will help you to stay safe during this season…
Take care when crossing roads. During winter, the weather can be extreme and roads can be quite icy. So take extra care when crossing roads. Only cross at places that are well lit, and (where possible) use pedestrian crossings.
Avoid ice (unless you’re going ice skating). Frozen puddles can seem like a lot of fun, but try to avoid walking on them, as they might cause you to slip over. Also, never walk on frozen lakes or ponds! Wear plenty of layers. If it’s a chilly day, make sure you wrap yourself up like you’re a Christmas present! Put on a coat and hat, as well as gloves to keep your hands warm and a scarf to cover your neck and mouth.
Have Fun Although it’s important to stay safe during the winter, this really is a ridiculously fun season. Enjoy it while it lasts – and if it snows, see if you can build a snowman!
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New Junior Soldiers
A junior soldier is a young member of The Salvation Army
Cherish, Poppy, Belfast Sydenham.
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Grace, aged 11, sent us this awesome Autumn Colouring! We love the leaves, especially those two-toned ones!
Age? 9. Favourite colour? Green. Favourite food? Meatballs. Favourite sport? Football. Favourite bit of Kids Alive! ? Crossword. Favourite Bible story and why? Mark 6, because I just like it. Favourite TV programme? Marvel. What do you want to be when you’re older? Scientist. Pets? None. Hobbies? Games. Tell us a joke. What did the cow do when it got in trouble? It moo-ved out of the way! What special skill or talent do you have? Jumping. Tell us something interesting about yourself. I am fast at running. Is there anything else you would like to tell us? I have more than 10 friends.
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G et I n To 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
06/11/2026 10:30
Cool Colourings Isn’t this a fab football colouring? It’s from Esther, aged 12, and it’s been coloured in so neatly! Here’s another beautiful Autumn Colouring. This one is from Evie, aged 8 – doesn’t the hedgehog look adorable?
Maisie, aged 8, coloured in this Around the World Colouring. We think it looks wonderful!
Indi, aged 10, has done such a good job colouring in the kits on these footballers! Great work! tumn Rainbow au at a leaves – wh a, fantastic ide love to Hannah! I’d n one of see those o alks! my doggy w
Hannah, aged 6, has definitely given this colouring lots of incredible imagination!
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CAP’N PETE is entering a sea shanty singing competition…
…AND HE WANTS ME TO LEARN THE PIANO SO THAT I CAN ACCOMPANY HIM.
YOU HAD BETTER GET PRACTISiNG THEN, pirate.
I CAN’T, PATCH. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO OPEN THE PIANO!
I’M A BIT CONFUSED, BECAUSE CAP’N PETE TOLD ME THAT…
…THE PIANO KEYS ARE INSIDE THE PIANO!
HOW CAN I UNLOCK IT IF THE KEYS ARE INSIDE?
Published by The Salvation Army. © The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory, 2026. Printed by CKN Print, Northampton.
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Please Recycle Me! 06/11/2026 10:28