Kids Alive! – formerly The Young Soldier – Issue No 7533
3 October 2026
The world's longest-running publication for children!
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
50P/60c
this week...
Black History Month
Leah
, and caring and active lifestyle well-being Living a healthy mental and spiritual for your physical,
this week...
Honouring Our Communities
Kids Alive! is available online – go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive KA - p1 - 3 October.indd 1
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What’s Inside?
Puzzle Answers Turn this page upside down to read the answers THERE’S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!: Akala. SAME AGAIN: 1 Monk. 2 Oboe. 3 None. 4 Keel. DOWN: 1 Tiny. 2 Jazz. 3 Lamb. 4 Garage. 6 Bridge. 9 East. 10 Loud. 11 Bird. GIGGLE IN THE MIDDLE CROSSWORD ACROSS: 3 Log. 5 Piñata. 6 Boy. 7 Zebra. 8 Ideal. 11 Bee. 12 Square. 13 Eat. PATCH’S PROBLEM: Page 8.
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.
3
Black History Month and Ed’s Bit
4–5
KA! JAM
6
Bible Beasts and Where to Read About Them
7
World Wonder
8–9
Giggle in the Middle
10
Pixicade Competition
11
World Space Week Fact File
12–13 KA! World 14–15 Your Space 16
Patch’s Pals: Pirate Pete and His Jolly Crew
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 7533
3 October 2026
The world's longest-running publication for children!
salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
50P/60c
this week...
Black History Month
Leah
and caring and active lifestyle, well-being Living a healthy mental and spiritual for your physical,
this week...
Honouring Our Communities
Kids Alive! is available online – go to salvationist.org.uk/kidsalive
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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Black History Month Could you name every teacher who lives in your village, town or city? How about every doctor or nurse? Or how about every person who volunteers for a charity? Our communities are packed full of heroes who are working to make the world a better place – and so often, they don’t get the praise they deserve! Throughout the whole of October, it’s Black History Month. This special month (which takes place every year) is all about remembering and celebrating the incredible achievements of Black British people. However, the organisers of this event don’t just want to talk about ridiculously famous celebrities. They want us to celebrate Black British unseen heroes who are doing spectacular things in their local communities – often without any thanks! That’s why the theme of this year’s Black History Month is ‘Honouring Our Communities’. To honour someone is to recognise how important they are and to show respect to them for what they’ve done. So this October, we’ll be honouring the many Black British people throughout history who have helped to hold communities together. This includes people like Ralph Ottey, who served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. And it also includes people like Claudia Jones, who helped to launch the Notting Hill Carnival! However, the organisers of this special month don’t just want us to think about the past. They want us to celebrate the wonderful work of Black British people in the world today! So how can you honour the Black British people who live in your community this Black History Month? To discover how you can honour people in your local community, check out pages 12 and 13 To find out more about Black History Month, check out blackhistorymonth.org.uk
This year’s Black History Month theme is about celebrating people that are making history today. The people who will hopefully be remembered in years to come for what they’re doing now. Lovely communities don’t just pop up out of nowhere. There are always people working hard to make them the best they can be. In a chapter of the Bible called Romans 12, Paul says that we’re all part of one big community – God’s family. We’ve each been given different skills by God and should use those skills to help others around us. That’s how we create beautiful communities like those we’ll be celebrating during Black History Month. What skills has God given you? Are they kindness, teaching, encouraging or leading? How can you use your skills to make the communities that you’re part of the best they can be? Go and make them places where everyone feels important, respected and loved!
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Read the comment below about how God cares for people who are left out
H
God Sees You
ey, kids, here’s a quick Bible challenge for iyou! How many of these Bible characters do you know of – Jacob, Joseph and Leah? Give yourself a round of applause if you knew all three! Jacob and Joseph are pretty well-known characters, but for most people, Leah is often a little trickier. You see, Leah belonged to one of the most famous families in the Bible, yet she was often overlooked. Even though she was married to Jacob, Jacob’s true love was her sister, Rachel. This complicated love triangle meant Leah was often left out. But God had a special plan for Jacob’s family, and when he noticed how unfairly Leah was being treated, God stepped in to take care of her. He blessed Leah with children and even made a plan
says Ibukun Baku
to include her in Jesus’ family tree through her son, Judah. Although Leah hoped her children would make Jacob love her like he loved Rachel, she soon realised that God’s love was all she needed. Leah didn’t pretend that everything was suddenly OK, but she did understand that she could share her difficult moments with God. Maybe there have been times when you’ve felt left out, forgotten or treated unfairly. How did that make you feel? Leah’s story reminds us that even when other people don’t notice us or make us feel loved, God always sees us. Just like Leah, you can talk to God about those things because he is always with you and he loves you more than you could ever imagine.
Encouraging Eyes Have you noticed anyone at your school, clubs or church community who is often left out? Write their name around the eyes and then add a prayer asking God to help you and others make them feel seen and included.
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God’s Special Family Leah
Kids Alive! follows the Salvation Army Children and Youth’s Explore it! resource – go to salvationist.org.uk/resources/discipleship/explore-it
25/09/2026 10:41
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Check out your Bible – Genesis 29: 31-35
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Steve English
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!
Peaceful Dove
and Where Read About Them
Genesis 8
STEVE ENGLISH
. .. n i Jo
‘We had been in the ark for ages, so I was relieved when Noah took me out of my cage and threw me out of the window. I flew around for a while, loving the feeling of the fresh air once again, and the opportunity to spread my wings – it had been really cramped on the ark. But there was nowhere to land! Water was everywhere, so I went back to the ark. ‘The next time I went out there was still loads of water, but I spotted an olive tree and I perched on a branch for a little rest. I took a small branch back to Noah as a souvenir. The last time I left the ark, all the water was gone. I could see the grass, flowers and trees. They were so pretty. I just flew and flew looking for the perfect place to make my new home.’
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. 25/09/2026 10:43
?
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!
A pirate’s private property
? ?
?
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.
?
r e d n o W d l r o W
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
The Parthenon There are lots of acropolises in Greece. An acropolis is the ancient upper part of a Greek city, usually built on a hill and protected by walls. The most famous acropolis can be found in the capital city, Athens. On the Acropolis in Athens is the Parthenon – a temple that used to have a big statue inside that was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena. Over the years, the Parthenon has also been used as a Christian church and a Muslim mosque. This brilliant building was constructed more than 2,000 years ago, but the white marble has taken a bit of a battering since then. Amazingly, despite the damage, much of the structure still stands today! That’s some pretty impressive building work!
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What did the firefly say to her best friend? ‘You glow, girl!’
Why was the broom late for class? It overswept!
Ho ho, ha ha, he he!
He he, he he!
What’s a pizza’s favourite type of joke? A cheesy one!
Crossword Clues
SAME AGAIN Insert the 12 letters given below into the grid so that the same four words read both across and down
BEEE ENNN OOOO
M
K
by Neil Locker
across:
Crossword Clues
3 Sawn piece of fuel from a tree. 5 Container filled with toys and sweets and hit with a stick at a party. 6 Male child. 7 Striped African h a, horse-like animal. 8 Perfect. 11 Busy insect. Hhaa ha, ! ha ha 12 Regular quadrilateral. 13 Have food.
down:
1 Very small. 2 Music genre that uses saxophones and trumpets, for example. 3 Young sheep. 4 Building in which to park a car. 6 River crossing or a card game. 9 Compass point opposite west. 10 Noisy. 11 Sparrow, for example.
Answers on Page 2
8
K
H o h o, ! ho ho
L by Neil Locker
What’s a rabbit’s favourite type of music? Hip-hop!
H e h e, h e h e!
What’s the most famous animal in the sea? A starfish! H o h o, h a h a, h e h e!
Why are doctors always calm? Because they have lots of patients!
Ho ho, ha ha, he he!
He he, he he!
Did You Know?...
There was a musician of African descent who played the trumpet in the Tudor royal court. His name was John Blanke and he played the trumpet for King Henry VII and King Henry VIII more than 500 years ago!
Black history month WORDSEARCH U J X D O O F Y I S S C Z N B H J K L M C E N E M U S E U M S A O I O L Q P R U W X R Y N T I E A Z I A N I C D S I T B E F H O B G K L M N I R O P R B N Q H R G U B A S T E I U E B E V M I T W A X Y C Z E C R M H I N H J L M A K R D O X O M U S I C G N F S C E N A C H I E V E M E N T S
the grid Find the Black History Month-related words in
celebraTIONS FOOD COMMUNITIES MUSIC PIONEERS MUSEUMS ICONS EXHIBITIONS AFRICAN CARIBBEAN UNSUNG HEROES ACHIEVEMENTS
Why couldn’t the pony sing at their choir concert? They were a little hoarse!
Knock, knock! Who’s there? Kenya! Kenya who? Kenya open the door? Why did the melon jump into the lake? Because it wanted to be a watermelon!
I was born in Crawley in 1983. I grew up in London and attended a pan-African Saturday school where I lear ned about blac k culture and history. This experience helped nurture my love for reading, history and theatre. I am a rapper, author and speaker. In 2009, I started The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company, which aims to show how modern day hip-hop and William Shakespeare’s poems are similar. My big sister is a UK rapper called Ms. Dynamite. Can you guess who I am?
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competition H
ow awesome would it be if your drawings or doodles could come to life? With this week’s competition, you can unleash the power of your creativity – and turn your everyday drawings into playable video games in just seconds! In other words, if you can draw it, then you can play it! The award-winning Pixicade activity set comes with everything you need to bring any game you can imagine to life, including special marker pens and a game design activity book with more than 100 pages. All you need to create your own magnificent games is this activity set, a trusted grown-up’s phone or tablet and your imagination. From platformer-style games like Super Mario Bros to slingshot games like Angry Birds, anything is possible – with absolutely no drawing experience required! For the opportunity to win your own Pixicade set, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Remember to put ‘Pixicade Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 30 October when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by filling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: Pixicade Competition, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ.
WIN!
Which of the following is a slingshot game? Minecraft
Angry Birds
Super Mario Bros
Name: Address: ____________ Postcode:
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Age:
_
Remember, the best way to enter is to email your entry to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk 25/09/2026 11:03
WORLD SPACE WEEK FACT FILE World Space Week begins on Sunday 4 October. This is a week to celebrate the amazing achievements of spectacular scientists, who made what might have once seemed impossible possible – going into space! Since October is also Black History Month, let’s learn about some of the brilliant black people who played incredibly important roles in the history of space exploration!
a
DOROTHY VAUGHAN
Alpha His tor ic
Dorothy was a high school maths teacher, until she began to work for NASA (who are in charge of the USA’s space programme) in 1943! Dorothy had an important job – figuring out flight paths for space missions!
NASA Archive
Dorothy was such a brilliant mathematician that she was put in charge of NASA’s West Area Computers unit. This was a team which was made up entirely of female black mathematicians, such as Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson.
GUION BLUFORD In 1983, Guion became the first black person in history to go into space. After years of flying planes for the United States Air Force, Guion was given the role of Mission Specialist on four missions into space. Over his four trips as an astronaut, Guion spent almost 29 days in space – taking part in some very important experiments.
The Color Arch ives
BERNARD A. HARRIS In 1969, astronauts landed on the Moon for the first time. As Bernard watched the Moon landing on his TV, he decided that he wanted to become an astronaut too. After years of hard work, Bernard was selected to become an astronaut in 1990. In 1995, he took part in the STS-63 mission – and became the first black person to walk in space (which is known as a spacewalk)!
STEPHANIE WILSON As an astronaut for NASA, Stephanie has already spent almost 43 days in space. While in space, she used robotic arms, created important safety rules and took stunning photos of the International Space Station.
SA NA
However, Stephanie has at least one more incredible space mission left to go on. She’s part of NASA’s Artemis Team, which is a group of 18 people who have the mission of going to the Moon!
P
ho to
To discover World Space Week events which are taking place near you, check out worldspaceweek.org/events/map
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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
Honouring Our Communities How often do you say, ‘thank you’? If you’ve already read page 3 of this issue, then you’ll know that the theme of Black History Month 2026 is ‘Honouring Our Communities’. In other words, this is a month to say ‘thank you’ to Black British people who have worked to make the communities we live in better places!
Thank You! We think there are a couple of fab ways that we can honour the spectacular work of Black British people this October. We can show that we’re thankful by…
Recognising Black British Heroes Is there a teacher at your school who’s inspired you to do your very best? Is there a nurse who makes visiting the doctor just a little bit less nerve-wracking? If you can think of an incredible Black British hero in your community, then thank them for what they’re doing! You could even write them a letter or make them a card.
Celebrating Culture It’s thanks to the hard work of Black British people that we live in a country with such a diverse and exciting culture. You can show your appreciation for the achievements of Black British people by really celebrating Black British culture! Why not spend some time learning about brilliant Black British people from the past, such as Olaudah Equiano? You could also cook some delicious African or Caribbean food and listen to awesome music created by Black British artists!
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Incredible Inspiration Another way to honour the brilliant efforts of Black British heroes is to be inspired by them! You could be inspired by…
Jeredyne Jestina Stanley In 2011, Jeredyne created Rivers Women’s Charity. This charity aims to help women who are facing difficult challenges, such as not having enough money. Through her charity, Jeredyne is able to give advice and support to people in her community!
Maurice Coore Maurice runs a boxing gym called Champs Camp in Moss Side, Manchester. At Champs Camp, Maurice teaches lots of young people how to box. He also wants to encourage these young people to work hard and to never give up!
Caring for Communities Jeredyne and Maurice know just how important it is to care for their local communities. This Black History Month, we think you should be inspired by them to care for the communities you’re in too! You can care for others at…
School Have you ever noticed someone at your school who doesn’t have anyone to play with at lunchtime? Rather than leave them out, invite them to play with you! By including others and making sure that nobody’s being left out, you’ll be helping to make your community a better place.
Home
Your parents or carers might have very busy lives – so you could help by taking on some chores! You could offer to do the washing up or to tidy a messy room. You could also show love to your neighbours who live near you. This might look like baking some tasty treats for them to enjoy. Or you could go with your parents or carers to spend time with an elderly neighbour who might not have many people to talk to!
Church Many churches, such as The Salvation Army (who publish Kids Alive!), do their best to support people who are in need. Why not ask someone at your church whether there’s a way you can help too? If you’d like to join in with The Salvation Army’s efforts to support local communities, you could take part in the Big Connection (to find out more, check out our 5 September issue at issuu.com/salvationarmyuk/docs/kids_alive_5_september).
Be inspired by Black British heroes this Black History Month! KA - p12-13 - 3 October.indd 2
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Cool Colourings
is so Wow! Erioluwa – good at drawing tive, keep being crea e Erioluwa, becaus d an u it’s fab for yo el makes others fe joy too!
Abigail, aged 8, is clearly a proper colouring champion. Look at this fantastic Firefighters Colouring!
Erioluwa, aged 9, has created this truly spectacular toy design! Seeing it made the whole team happy!
Here’s another beautiful colouring! Felicity, aged 8, has given her creation some fab black outlines. They really make it stand out!
Jovanna and Jeny, aged 9 and 5, worked together to make this mega Music Colouring! We hope it inspired you to make music together too!
This Racing Car Colouring is from Liam. It’s coloured so neatly and we love those stones too – maybe they coloured it at the beach!
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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
3 October Alexander Valencia – age 12 7 October Isaac Mcculloch – age 13 8 October Ese Okoukoni – age 11
D a rc ie Age? 10. Favourite colour? Pink. Favourite food? English breakfast. Favourite sport? Netball.
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
Favourite bit of Kids Alive! ? Comic – Patch’s Pals. Favourite Bible story and why? Christmas, because it’s when Jesus was born. Favourite TV programme? Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. What do you want to be when you’re older? Singer. Pets? None, but I want a bunny. Hobbies? Sport. Tell us a joke. What’s the fastest cake in the world? Scone ... because when it’s scone, it’s scone! What special skill or talent do you have? Dancing. Tell us something interesting about yourself. My daddy used to be editor of Kids Alive! Is there anything else you would like to tell us? No.
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Sometimes there’s a need to communicate with other ships...
it’s time you learned some new seafaring skills, pirate.
...so something like semaphore is helpful to learn.
off you go and do some practice.
later...
Oh, no! The ship’s on fire!
Don’t fret, cap’N pete. rather than learn semaphore, i thought i’d learn to send smoke signals. THE SALVATION ARMY – A CHRISTIAN CHURCH AND REGISTERED CHARITY
LOCAL INFO LOCAL INFO LOCAL INFO
oops! Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all!
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! 25/09/2026 10:59