Kids Alive! – formerly The Young Soldier – Issue No 7535
17 october 2026
The world's longest-running publication for children!
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
50P/60c
this week...
tyle and caring and an active lifes Living a healthy mental and spiritual well-being. l, for your physica
this week...
The Big Draw Festival
Joseph in Egypt
y r e v E e l k c Ta s t n u Co
U C D L R O W E U RU G B Y L E A G
WIN! P
Kids Alive! is available online – go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive KA - p1 - 17 October.indd 1
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What’s Inside?
Puzzle Answers Turn this page upside down to read the answers DOWN: 1 Milk. 2 Sun. 4 Heart. 5 Duet. 6 Anagram. 10 Ocean. 11 Ball. 12 Iron. 15 Gem. CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Mast. 3 Shed. 7 Linen. 8 Ape. 9 Noughts. 13 Ace. 14 Anger. 16 Land. 17 Amen. PAGE PUZZLE: A16. B7. C4. D14. E6. F12. G10. H11. GIGGLE IN THE MIDDLE WORDFIT: 1 Black. 2 Lady. 3 Vary. 4 Lark. 5 Vote. New word: Carat. PATCH’S PROBLEM: Page 5.
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.
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Rugby League World Cup and Ed’s Bit
4–5
KA! JAM
6
Bible Beasts and Where to Read About Them
7
Tongue Twisters
8–9
Giggle in the Middle
10
Care Bears Blind Box Competition
11
Creative Corner
12–13 KA! World 14–15 Your Space 16
Patch’s Pals Naughty Norman
Subscribe* to
Go to salvationist.org.uk/radio to get your morning started with half an hour of music, prayer, a thought and lots of giggles. Or listen any time you like with the podcast, which is available on our website and all major audio platforms.
e Availabl online!
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
Kids Alive! – formerly The Young Soldier – Issue No 7535
17 october 2026
The world's longest-running publication for children!
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
50P/60c
this week...
Joseph in Egypt
this week...
and caring and an active lifestyle Living a healthy mental and spiritual well-being. for your physical,
The Big Draw Festival
Every Ta c k l e Counts
RU GB Y LE AGUE
WIN!
WO RL D CU P
Kids Alive! is available online – go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive KA - p1 - 17 October.indd 1
09/10/2026 10:37
for £4.33 a month
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. *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 DESIGNER Philippa Elliott 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. 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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s t n u o C e l k c a Every T CUP D L R O W E U G A E L Y B RU G
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You can watch the Rugby League World Cup on Premier Sports. You’ll be able to catch up on England’s first men’s match, and England and Wales’ women’s match on Saturday 17 October at any time you like (since they take place very early in the morning)!
News Images LTD
icture this – it was 1823. A school student called William Webb Ellis did something that was completely unexpected during a football match. He picked up the ball and ran towards the other team’s goal! This was the start of a brilliant new sport called rugby. Now, 200 years later, rugby is one of the most popular sports in the world – and three major rugby events are about to take place! This October, some of the world’s greatest rugby players will represent their countries as they try (pardon the pun) to bring home a shiny trophy. They’ll be playing in the Men’s, Women’s or Wheelchair Rugby League World Cups! All three World Cups will take place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, but we’ll be able to watch them from the comfort of our sofas. If you’ve never watched a rugby match before, then these games will definitely be a great place to start, no matter what country you’re living in! Although only England are playing in the Men’s World Cup, England and Wales will be competing in the Women’s World Cup – and England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland will all be battling to win the Wheelchair trophy. So what are you waiting for? Kick back, relax, fill your scrummy … we mean, tummy with some scrumptious snacks and watch some of the best rugby you can find anywhere!
I think rugby is such an exciting sport. Sometimes there are tackles flying in all over the place. How many times do you think a rugby player gets knocked down during one match? A lot, probably! When they get knocked down, they don’t stay there thinking, ‘I’ll just stay here until the final whistle’. They get back up and get stuck back into the game. Getting knocked down is part of the game, and there’s always a teammate ready to offer a hand to help someone back up. There are things that happen to us that make us feel ‘knocked down’ too, such as not passing a test or falling out with a friend. Getting knocked down by disappointments is a part of life for all of us. Thankfully Jesus is the best teammate we could hope for, so he’ll always be there to help us get back up and stuck into life again!
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God’s Special Family Joseph in Egypt
Check out your Bible – Genesis 39:1-5, 19-23; 41:1-8, 14-16,39-40
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
09/10/2026 10:54
A
God is With You
nyone who knows me well knows that I’m a icreature of habit. That means I’m not a big fan of change. Change can make me feel nervous, so I like things to stay just the way they are! But in this week’s Bible story, changes were a big part of Joseph’s life.
Read the comment on the right about trusting God in everything
Some of these changes were good. For example, Potiphar promoted Joseph from being his slave to being the manager of his house. But some of these changes were also terrible – such as when Joseph was wrongly thrown into prison for something he didn’t even do. However, whatever situation Joseph found himself in, he kept believing that God was with him and chose to trust God through it all. With God’s help, Joseph was able to work hard and help others. God blessed Joseph with wisdom and the ability to understand the meaning of dreams. Joseph even helped Pharaoh (a king in ancient Egypt) understand two troublesome dreams he had. Eventually all of Joseph’s experiences – the good and the bad – led him to the exact place God wanted him to be. Pharaoh made Joseph the second most important leader in Egypt! In our lives, there’ll be moments when we experience new situations too. Some will be exciting, like starting a new school, and others will be a bit more difficult, like falling out with a friend. However, no matter what changes come along your way, one thing will always stay the same – God’s love for you! God will be with you and help you every step of the way.
says Ibukun Baku
A-maze-ing Story Joseph’s story was filled with many twists and turns! Make your way through the maze and help Joseph go from being a slave to an important leader!
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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!
Hungry Fish
and Where Read About Them
Jonah 1 and 2
STEVE ENGLISH
. .. n i Jo
‘It was a weird day. There had been a storm and the waters were very choppy – it was giving me a headache and I was trying to concentrate. There were loads of crates in the water – one of them nearly landed on my head. Anyway, I just wanted to find somewhere peaceful where I could rest when I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to eat a human. As luck would have it, a man dropped into the water right in front of me. I opened my mouth and swallowed him whole. But I soon wished I hadn’t! He did nothing but talk the whole time he was in my belly, and he didn’t taste too great either! So, after three days I puked him up on to a beach.’
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. 09/10/2026 11:07
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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!
Wayne’s rear wheel, Wayne’s rear wheel
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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
Sagrada Famí lia This interesting-looking building is a basilica (a type of church) in Barcelona, Spain. It’s called Sagrada Família, which means Holy Family in Spanish. Building began way back in 1882 – that’s 144 years ago! Buildings that are this complicated take a long time to build and there have been some hold-ups, including the Spanish Civil War, when some parts of the building were destroyed by fire. Sagrada Família was designed by a very famous architect called Antoni Gaudí, who unfortunately never saw it completed. The church has three main sides, representing three important times in Jesus’ life. The main structure of the building was completed this year – 100 years after Gaudí died – but there are still some extra decorative bits to add before it’s finally completely finished.
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o, H o h a, ha h ! e he h
Ho ho, ha ha, he he!
He he, he he!
e, He h ! e he h What do you call a dinosaur that plays rugby? A try-ceratops!
Why did the coach drop Cinderella from the team? Because she kept running away from the ball!
Wordfit K
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Why don’t grasshoppers play rugby? They prefer cricket!
Why did the referee send the chicken to the sin bin? For fowl play!
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down: 1 Dairy product. 2 Centre of the solar system. 4 Pumping organ in the body. 5 Song for two performers. 6 Jumbledletter puzzle. 10 The Atlantic, for example. 11 Spherical piece of sports equipment. 12 Appliance used to smooth clothes.H e h e, h e h e! 15 Precious stone.
by Neil Locker
What did the bumblebee say after it touched the ball down under the posts? ‘Hive scored!’
How do hens support their rugby team? They egg on the players!
What goes stomp, stomp, stomp, squelch? An elephant wearing wet rugby boots!
What do you call a boat full of polite rugby players? A good sportsman-ship!
rugby world c cu up WORDSEARCH Find the Rugby League World Cups-related words and teams in the grid
samoa france tonga c n e w z e a l a n d a new zealand australia ua oi ox cj fi mu mq bz on es p o d m s s d k j r england lebanon wales t r n f i c a d n l r a cook islands ireland r e a t g s ul ua ba wa op ys a v l h r t l s e m g p papua new Guinea l n e i y y z a l k o a i o r k j k t o n g a p usa fiji drop goal a c i e c n a r f d l u penalty kick scrum h c e n g l a n d f s a k m t a e n i u g w e n conversion maul try 9
ON I T I T E P M O C BLIND BOX
W
ould you fancy going on an adventure to find a polar bear? You’d need to go on a very chilly journey to the icy Arctic! If that doesn’t sound fun to you, then you could go on a mission to find a panda bear in the wild instead. All you’d have to do is hop on a plane and travel to the mountains of central China! Or, if you’d like to have one of the cutest, cuddliest little bears in the world with you everywhere you go, you could enter this week’s competition! We have a brilliant Care Bears blind box bundle up for grabs, including Care Bears from the Caring Cuties, Sweet Blooms and Cutie Companions series. These adorable bears aren’t just great for cuddles – you can also clip them to your bags or key rings. This means they can join you for any awesome adventures you go on, no matter where you go! For the opportunity to win your own Care Bears blind box bundle, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Remember to put ‘Care Bears Blind Box Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 20 November when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by filling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: Care Bears Blind Box Competition, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ.
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WIN!
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In which country can pandas be found in the wild? China
Australia
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Spain
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 09/10/2026 10:48
CREATE A PAPER CHAIN Although we love learning about spectacular sporting events and fab films at Kids Alive!, we also don’t shy away from discussing some tricky topics! That’s because it’s only by talking about them that we can make a difference. One incredibly important subject to learn about is modern slavery. This is when a person’s freedom is taken away from them by another person. It might be hard to believe that this is a thing that happens in the UK, but the truth is that around 122,000 people are currently kept in slave-like conditions! It’s Anti-Slavery Day on Sunday 18 October, which is a day to fight back against modern slavery. You can take part by adding a splash of colour to the paper chain on the right, cutting it out and hanging it in a window! Your paper chain will remind your friends, family and neighbours that they can all help to fight against modern slavery. To find out more about modern slavery and what The Salvation Army (which publishes ‘Kids Alive!’) does to fight it, check out tsa.link/4A92rFL or scan the QR code below
Go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive to download a printable PDF of this page KA - p11 - 17 October.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
The Big Draw Festival If you were to grab a pencil right now and start drawing, what do you think you’d come up with? Actually, let’s find out – draw anything you like in the box below!
Did you just draw a dragon with eight heads and sharp claws? Perhaps you drew the world’s tallest ballerina, a castle made of cheese or a car that can drive underwater! Whatever you drew, we hope you had a great time creating your own magnificent art – especially because that’s what The Big Draw Festival is all about!
Dazzling Drawing The Big Draw Festival is a massive celebration of drawing and of how art can bring so many different people together! You don’t need to be an awe-inspiring artist to take part, or even a colouring-pencil pro – The Big Draw is for everyone! If the thought of being involved in The Big Draw has you bouncing with excitement, then you’ll be glad to know you don’t need to wait for it to start. The Big Draw Festival runs for the whole of October, with plenty of events taking place across the whole month – including the day you’re reading this issue!
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Make a Mark The theme of this year’s Big Draw Festival is ‘Make a Mark’. If someone makes a mark, this often means that they’ve done something to get themselves attention, or even to make themselves famous. However, the organisers of this fab festival aren’t looking for people to try to become famous artists. Instead, they’re encouraging them to care more about ‘making a mark’ on a blank page with a pencil – and having a ridiculous amount of fun while doing it! Then, when their awesome creations are finished, they might find their work inspires others.
Excellent Events There are so many incredible events taking place all around the UK during The Big Draw – in schools, museums, heritage sites and community centres. Since The Big Draw is all about celebrating how art can unite people, why not go to a Big Draw event near you? You can discover excellent events taking place in your local community by checking out thebigdraw.org/events.
Christmas Card Competition If you’re looking for a way to put your creative skills to the test during The Big Draw Festival, then you could enter the Kids Alive! Christmas Card Competition!
WIN!
This year’s competition has a brand-new prize up for grabs – £150 worth of STABILO goodies – perfect for all your arty creations! The winning design will also feature on the cover of the 12 December issue of Kids Alive! and be added to The Salvation Army’s (which publishes Kids Alive!) collection on the e-card website Don’t Send Me a Card. Plus, four runners-up will each win a year’s subscription to Kids Alive!
Your Turn To enter this competition, send your Christmas Card design, full name, age, address and parent’s or carer’s email address to: Christmas Card Competition, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. Please don’t fold your design and make sure you send it in an A4 envelope. You can also enter by emailing your design to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk, but please make sure it’s a good quality scan or photo. The competition closes on Friday 27 November, so grab your supplies and let your creativity shine! For more information, check out tsa.link/ka-christmas-card
Pick up your pencils and let your imagination run wild for The Big Draw Festival KA - p12-13 - 17 October.indd 2
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H a p py B i r t h d ay t o yo u ! To see your name and birthday printed in a future issue of KA! email your full name and date of birth to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk
Belated birthday wishes to... Pio Nkwocha – age 15 Sorry it’s a bit late, Pio!
Ola o lu Age? 8. This amazing Around the World Favourite colour? Blue. Colouring is from Favourite food? Fries. Yandiswa, aged Favourite sport? Football. 11, an d w e th ink Favourite bit of Kids Alive! ? it looks fabulous! Wordsearch. Favourite Bible story and why? James, because he had trust in God as you should. Favourite TV programme? Sonic Prime. What do you want to be when you’re older? I want to be a technology designer. Pets? None. Hobbies? Reading and playing The Kids Alive! team loves to hear football. from its readers. And guess what – other readers love reading your Tell us a joke. My friend is known news! So why not get in touch? for breaking records ... and now You can email or post your own he’s banned from music shops! colourings, drawings and letters. What special skill or talent do you Or you could ask your Sunday have? Spelling, singing. school, church or corps leaders to Tell us something interesting about email us or write to us with any yourself. I am the times tables king! news about the fun stuff you’ve Is there anything else you would like been doing at your church or corps. to tell us? I read a Bible verse every Email: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk day and my favourite is Matthew 5:7 – Post: Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall London SE5 8FJ obtain mercy.’ (King James Version).
G et I n To u c h !
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Cool Colourings Alfie, aged 9, created this awesome Care for Creation poster. The person in red is litter picking!
I’ll Fight!
Felicity, aged 8, sent us this beautiful Around the World-themed colouring. The rainbows are our favourite bit!
When Matthew was learning about becoming a junior soldier (young member of The Salvation Army), he learnt about William Booth’s (co-founder of The Salvation Army) ‘I’ll Fight’ speech and decided to write his own. While there is pollution in the world, litter on the ground and plastic in the seas – I’ll fight! While there are people who have no food, are starving and have no clean water to drink – I’ll fight! While there are people who don’t have a home – I’ll fight! While some countries are fighting and there is war – I’ll fight! While people are sad and lonely – I’ll fight! While there are people who do not know Jesus – I’ll fight! Tell everyone about him!
It looks like Jerina, aged 7, also enjoyed our Around the World Colouring. Great work – we love the girl with the cool pink hair!
spiring, This is so in ! eep fighting Matthew! K
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we’ve got a new leaf blower to clear up the autumn leaves, patch.
dad told me to blow them into a pile and then put them in the garden waste bin.
that sounds too much like hard work...
...so i’m just going to blow all our leaves into our neighbour’s garden instead. let me just switch it on.
i wouldn’t do that, norman.
why not, patch? because you’ve got it on the suction setting, not the blowing one!
that’ll teach you not to be naughty, norman!
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ouch! help! 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! 09/10/2026 11:20