Kids Alive! – formerly The Young Soldier – Issue No 7496
17 January 2026
The world's longest-running publication for children!
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
50P/60c
BBC/Hungry Bear/Shutterstock/Getty Pictures
this week...
Making Wise Choices Like Solomon
this week...
Living a healthy and an active lifestyle and caring for your physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Winter Scrapbook
Kids Alive! is available online – go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive KA - p1 - 17 January.indd 1
09/01/2026 10:52
What’s Inside?
Puzzle Answers Turn this page upside down to read the answers
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Gladiators and Ed’s Bit KA! JAM
6
Bumper Bible Breakdown
7
Patch’s Problem
8–9
Giggle in the Middle
10
Footprints of Faith Competition
11
Colouring Corner
17 January 2026
The world's longest-running publication for children!
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
50P/60c
BBC/Hungry Bear/Shutterstock/Getty Pictures
4–5
Kids Alive! – formerly The Young Soldier – Issue No 7496
this week...
Making Wise Choices Like Solomon
this week...
Living a healthy and an active lifestyle and caring for your physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Winter Scrapbook
DOWN: 1 Mackerel. 2 Pan. 3 Cold. 4 Frame. 5 Stingray. 9 Sugar. 11 Head. 14 Bib. CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Map. 3 Cuff. 6 Canal. 7 Ant. 8 Easy. 10 Bean. 12 Egg. 13 Ember. 15 Grid. 16 Boy. SUPER SUM!: 15 ÷ 5 + 6 x 3 – 8 = 19. SUDOKU GIGGLE IN THE MIDDLE BIG MYSTERY: Foam finger. 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 Olive Forruthers
Subscribe* to
Kids Alive! is available online – go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
WIN!
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.
Go to salvationist.org.uk/radio to get your morning started with half an hour of music, prayer, a thought and lots of giggles
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 DESIGNER Philippa Martin 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 Julian Watchorn 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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09/01/2026 11:42
BBC/Hungry Bear/Shutterstock/Getty Pictures
T
housands of years ago, warriors known as gladiators used to show off their incredible skills to excited audiences. Now, 18 spectacularly strong, amazingly athletic and fantastically fast warriors are ready to put their talents to the test in a brand-new series of Gladiators! These Gladiators will be facing off against a batch of contenders who will all be hoping to be crowned as a champion by the end of this series. To beat the Gladiators, contenders will have to show strength that would stun a gorilla and speed that would shock a cheetah – they’ll have to be the best of the best! The Gladiators really are a force to be reckoned with, so it’s probably a good thing that they’re pretty funny too. Don’t believe us? Then check out Gladiators: Epic Pranks! In this silly show, a Gladiator called Nitro pulls off some pranks that are absolutely bananas with the help of his Gladiator friends. The first two episodes of Gladiators: Epic Pranks have already been released, but you can still watch them on BBC iPlayer! We don’t want to give too much away, so all we’ll say is that these episodes include a farm, lots of turnips, a fake birdwatching club and someone doing the conga! You can watch ‘Gladiators’ tonight (17 January) at 5.45pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Episodes of ‘Gladiators: Epic Pranks’ will air on CBBC every weekday at 5.45pm.
One of the best bits of Gladiators for me is the Eliminator – when the contenders go head-to-head in their final race. There are cargo nets, zip wires and balance beams – and the whole event builds up to the Travelator! There might be challenges, stumbles and tiredness, but the contenders must keep going all the way to the end. Sometimes life can feel like we’re taking part in the Eliminator – there will be challenges we have to overcome, stumbles when we make mistakes and definitely plenty of tiredness! In Gladiators, the contenders have the crowd cheering them on and encouraging them to keep going. We need people around us cheering us on and keeping us going too. So have a think about the people around you – who are your biggest encouragers and how can you be a good encourager for others too?
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09/01/2026 11:38
Promises of God Making Wise Choices Like Solomon
Check out your Bible – 1 Kings 3:4-12, 17-28 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
09/01/2026 10:07
I
Read the comment on the right about making the right decisions
Who Can Help Us?
f you were really struggling with your maths ihomework, who would you ask for help? If you were upset because someone was being mean to you, who would you talk to about it? If you had a really big decision to make, who would you ask for advice? You might go to the same person for all of these questions, or you might have different people who help you with different things. In this week’s Bible cartoon we meet a young king named Solomon. Solomon had a really tough decision to make. Thankfully he had already asked God for wisdom – which is understanding how to make good decisions. He could have asked God for anything, but Solomon knew that being a good king would mean making fair and good choices, and he knew God could help him with this. God gave Solomon wisdom and Solomon used it to sort out a difficult situation between two women. When I was reading this cartoon, I gasped when I saw the bit when Solomon says he’s going to give his guard a sword to solve the problem! Thankfully, it was just a clever idea Solomon had to find out the truth about who the real mother of the baby was. Solomon trusted that God had given him the wisdom he needed to sort out this problem. God can help you with any decisions you have to make too. So next time you’re faced with a problem, don’t rush to make the decision by yourself. Instead, take some time to ask God for wisdom, so that you can make the right choice.
says Cara Mott
Prayer Space Use the box on the left to write down a decision that you’re going to have to make this year. Then use the box on the right to write a prayer asking God to help you make the right choice.
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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.
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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 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. 09/01/2026 11:50
be when What do you want to you learn you grow up? To help ight be about a job that you m ked a interested in, we’ve as out ab grown-up to tell us all . what they do for work It’s time to meet a…
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When I Grow Up
Patch’s ? Problem... ?
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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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H o h o, h o h o! Ha h a, h a h a, ha ha!
He he, he he!
Ho ho, ha ha, he he!
ry item Identify the myste glass in the magnifying H e he, he he !
H o h o, h a h a, he he !
Why don’t skeletons fight each other at the gym? Because they don’t have the guts!
What do you call a pig that knows karate? Pork chop!
Where do wild animals go to work out? The jungle gym!
Why did the fish stop lifting weights? It pulled a mussel!
Did you hear about the weightlifting vegetable? It was a muscle sprout!
Why can’t skeletons lift weights? Because they are all bone and no muscles!
Complete the grid so that every col umn, row and colour-grouped box contain the numbers 1–6
- SUPER÷ + ÷ SUM! +X
add, subtract, Replace the question marks with an e the sum divide or multiply symbol to complet
÷ ÷ ? 6 ? 5 15 - + X X ?3 ? 8 + ÷ = 19 ÷
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by Neil Locker
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What are the strongest days of the week? e, H e hSunday. ! Saturday and he he The rest are weak days! What’s a banana’s favourite gymnastic move? The splits!
o, Ho h , a ha h ! h he e by Neil Locker
across: 1 Chart found in an atlas. 3 Edge of a sleeve. 6 Man-made waterway. 7 Colony insect. 8 Simple. 10 Pod vegetable. 12 Omelette ingredient. 13 Glowing coal. 15 Arrangement of black and white squares in a crossword. 16 Male child.
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down: Why did the gladiator bring a ladder to the arena? They wanted to climb their way to victory!
1 Edible marine fish. 2 Cooking pot. 3 Chilly. 4 Wooden border for a painting, for example. 5 Flatfish with a venomous spine in its tail. 9 Natural sweetener. 11 Top part of your body. 14 Baby’s mealtime clothes protector.
gladiators WORDSEARCH Find the Gladiators listed below in the grid
apollo diamond fire athena bionic comet cyclone giant sabre fury viper dynamite hammer phantom electro nitro steel legend
a q s p b e r i f j d b n p h a n t o m y x i e e z o f b g l k j o a t h s v l c r t p n r m i t t w x l y e i z t o m a e b d e o c y b i n a j e z c f r d l y n d n f l i j e k m n o p q y u t e m o c s t e n u d r wm x g i a n t g e y y a b v i p e r c d e f h g e l e c t r o h i l
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Footprints of Faith Competition W
hen you want to do something really well, it can be helpful to take inspiration from other spectacular people. If you want to be a fab writer, then it would definitely be helpful to read a book written by a brilliant author, such as Charles Dickens. Or if you want to be an amazing footballer, then you’ll definitely want to pay attention to how Lucy Bronze plays! If you want to live a good Christian life, bravely following Jesus through everything you might face … well, you might want to check out a book called Footprints of Faith: The Changemakers. In this fantastic book, written by Nancy Walbank, you’ll discover stories from the Bible and explore the lives of some of the saints (who were Christians from the past who did magnificent things). You’ll learn about people who loved God – and who made a big difference to those around them! For the opportunity to win your own copy of Footprints of Faith: The Changemakers, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Remember to put ‘Footprints of Faith Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 13 February when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by filling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: Footprints of Faith Competition, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ.
WIN!
Prizes kindly donated by Hodder Faith
Which of the following is a professional footballer? Lucy Bronze
Charles Dickens
Nancy Walbank
Name: Address: ____________ Postcode:
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Age:
_
Remember, the best way to enter is to email your entry to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk 09/01/2026 11:58
THE HAPPIEST COLOURING IN THE WORLD That’s right – this colouring page might just be the happiest in the whole world! That’s because we’ve packed it full of things we think will put a smile on your face, such as rainbows and scrumptious sweets. This coming Monday (19 January) is often a day when people might feel sadder than any other day in the year (Blue Monday). So if you’re feeling like you need something to cheer you up, add a splash of colour to what might just be the most joyful colouring page you’ve ever seen! If you’d like to share your artwork with other readers, email your colouring to: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Make sure you write ‘Happiest Colouring’ in the subject box and give us your full name, age and address. Alternatively, you can post your colouring 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 colouring we publish, so don’t miss out!
SHINE BRIGHT AND SPREAD HAPPINESS Name:
Age:
Address: Postcode: Go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive to download a printable PDF of this page KA - p11 - 17 January.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 Scrapbook Guess what? The Kids Alive! team are giving you permission to make these next two pages as messy as you’d like them to be! You can splash them with watercolours, splatter them with glue and even sprinkle them with dirt! That’s because we want you to turn these next two pages into your own scrapbook! A scrapbook is a book which a person can decorate with things that are meaningful to them. A scrapbook is meant to be something that its creator can look back on in the future. So, when you check out this scrapbook when you’re a grown-up, we want you to find lots of things that are special to you!
Perfect Photo You’ve probably had plenty of photos taken of you this winter – but is there a photo that stands out as your favourite? Perhaps it’s a photo of you opening a brilliant Christmas present or watching some fireworks on New Year’s Eve. Stick a copy of that photo into the box on the left and write beneath it the date that the picture was taken. If you’re not able to add a copy of your photo, then draw it in the box instead!
Spectacular Scavenging Have you been on many walks this winter? The outdoors can look absolutely stunning during this chilly season – especially when everything is covered in snow. Before winter comes to an end on 28 February, go on as many walks as you can with friends and family. Pick up any stunning leaves that you might find and keep them safe. Then choose your favourite and stick it into the space to the right!
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Your leaf here! 09/01/2026 12:07
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Marvellous Memories When you’re a grown-up with grey hair (or no hair at all), you might look back at this scrapbook to remember what it was like to be a kid. So let’s give future you a hand by answering the prompts below!
Name: Age: Favourite hobbies: Favourite songs: Favourite films: Favourite foods: Use this space to say hello to future you:
Creative Collage
Me!
Sweet wrappers, cinema tickets, wrapping paper, old Christmas crackers – what rubbish do you have lying around your home this winter? Cut out pieces of items lying around your house that remind you of winter! Then stick those pieces into the space on the right to create a mini collage!
Wonderful Words How are you feeling right now? Happy, over the moon, full of joy … or maybe a little bit hungry? Use the space below to write words that describe how you’re feeling as you make this scrapbook. If you’re adding to your scrapbook over a few weeks, then write a different word every time you sit down to work on it! By the time you’ve finished this scrapbook, there might be so many words written down that you can barely read any of them!
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As well as completing the activities on these pages, please do whatever you like to this page! Cover it in paint, draw all over it or cut it into pieces – it’s completely up to you!
What are you waiting for? Get scrapbooking! KA - p12-13 - 17 January.indd 2
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Cool Colourings
ed 6, has Emily, ag louring done a co o ds us all t that remin itively! think pos
Esther, aged 11, sent us this beautiful colouring for Remembrance Day. It’s so neatly coloured!
ight be a October m ago now, long time to ill wanted t s e w t u b colouring is h t e r a h s , aged 8. h a d A m o fr re Jesus’ a h s ll a ’s Let 26! light in 20
ged 10, Viviana, a red in also colou rance a Rememb Look at Colouring. utlines the cool o d to the she’s adde leaves! d n a s ie p p po
Grace, aged 10 , coloured this bri ght creation to celeb rate the release of Gabby’s Dollhou se: The Movie!
Police Visit Preschool! Leigh-on-Sea Salvation Army Smiley Preschool welcomed the police into the preschool so that the police could talk about what they do and how they can stay safe. The children got to ask questions and see some equipment that the police use. Afterwards, the police stayed for the coffee morning at the Salvation Army hall where people from the community could talk to them about anything they were worried about.
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09/01/2026 10:23
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
17 January Amelia Stubbs – age 11 18 January Endijs Lacis – age 11 Solomon Still – age 7 George Riordan – age 6 21 January Sophie Paffey – age 10 What fox co a fantastic lou You’ve ring, Willow ! put colour so much into it I love it so m – uch!
A lfie Age? 9. Favourite colour? Blue. Favourite food? Burger. Favourite sport? Football. Favourite bit of Kids Alive! ? Patch’s Pals and competitions. Favourite Bible story and why? Easter. Favourite TV programme? Lingo . What do you want to be when you’re older? Singer and actor. Pets? Bulldog called Ralph. Hobbies? Drawing and swimming.
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age illow,
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G et I n ! h c u o T
Tell us a joke. Knock, knock! Who’s there? Doctor! Doctor who? You just said it!
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
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09/01/2026 10:23
THIS EVENING we’re going to do some work towards your sports badges.
I WANT EVERYONE TO TOUCH THEIR TOES 20 TIMES. OFF YOU GO, GIRLS!
…
SHORTLY
THAT WAS QUICK, OLIVE! SHOW ME HOW YOU DID IT.
I’VE FINISHED, BROWN OWL!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING, OLIVE?
TOUCHING MOLLY’S TOES, BROWN OWL! I COULDN’T QUITE REACH MINE…
…SO I THOUGHT I’D TOUCH HER TOES INSTEAD!
Published by The Salvation Army. © The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory, 2026. Printed by CKN Print, Northampton.
KA - p16 - 17 January.indd 1
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09/01/2026 10:24