Kids Alive! 4 April 2026 by The Salvation Army UK and Ireland

by Philippa Elliott

Illustrated

Puzzle Answers

Road. New word: Peter.

1 Holy Week. 2 Tom. 3 Lent. 4 Spear.

Iris. 12 Egg. 13 Intro. 15 Beak. 16 Yes.

ACROSS: 1 Hot. 3 Last. 6 Lemon. 7 Eel. 8 Wren.

PROBLEM: Page 8.

EGGS ‘He isn’t here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would.’ (Matthew 28:6, Contemporary English Version.)

JAM

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KA! JAM

Bumper Bible Breakdown

Kiddo

Giggle in the Middle

Disney Doorables Adoorbs Competition

Creative Corner

An Un-eggs-pected Discovery 14–15 Your Space 16 Patch’s Pals Percy the Penguin

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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.

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EDITOR Cara Mott

DEPUTY EDITOR AND KA! JAM CO-ORDINATOR Ibukun Baku

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jacob Adams

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Philippa Elliott

PROOFREADER Chris Horne

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. 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. 3 Happy Easter and Ed’s Bit

There are so many eggs-cellent days we look forward to every year, but tomorrow (5 April) might just be at the top of the Kids Alive! list. We’re not trying to be bunny … we mean funny when we say that this Sunday has got us so eggs-cited we think we might just eggs-plode! That’s because tomorrow is Easter Sunday!

Are you as eggs-cited for Easter as we are? Perhaps you can’t wait to go on an Easter egg hunt, or to munch on a delicious hot cross bun! You might be eggs-pecting to share a scrumptious dinner with your family. Or maybe the thought of going to church to learn about Jesus has got you hopping with joy!

The Kids Alive! crew are particularly looking forward to going to church this Sunday. That’s because Easter Sunday is all about remembering everything that Jesus has done for us. It’s also about celebrating that although Jesus died, he came back to life. In fact, he’s still alive right now, as you’re reading this page. And he’ll still be alive when you read the next page, and the page after that, and the page after that, and … you get the picture!

Jesus is Alive! Happy Easter

When we’re at church, we’ll get to spend time with other Christians as they get ex-cited about Jesus too. So why not ask your parents or carers to bring you to church tomorrow, and eggs-plore how Jesus can make your life so much better? Hoppy… we mean happy Easter!

If you were given a big basket of Easter eggs, what would you do with them? Would you keep them all to yourself? Or would you think that the eggs were too delicious not to share?

After Jesus came back to life, he gave everyone a mission to tell people about him. We could think of it like being given that big basket of Easter eggs. We could keep this news to ourselves and enjoy it, but then loads of people would be missing out on something amazing. Some things are just too good not to share!

If you’re looking for ideas about how to tell others about Jesus this Easter, let me help you. You could invite a friend to come to church with you or give this copy of Kids Alive! to someone so that they can read the Easter story for themselves. Have a fantastic Easter telling others about Jesus!

The Story Continues

Wihat’s your favourite Easter memory? iMaybe it’s a particularly good Easter egg hunt, a holiday with your family or tucking into the tastiest chocolate egg ever!

One of my favourite Easter memories is from when I was 18 years old (that’s a long time ago!). I was in a Salvation Army brass band and we went on a very exciting trip to California around Easter time. While we were there, we played outside at a sunrise service. It was a beautiful morning – the sun was shining and the weather was warm. It was quiet and peaceful and I remember thinking, ‘Is this what the first Easter Sunday was like, when the women went to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning?’

Then I started thinking about what the women who visited Jesus’ tomb felt like that day. I think they probably spent Saturday feeling sad and hopeless, after seeing Jesus die on Good Friday, and they probably still felt that way on Sunday morning. However, when they discovered Jesus was alive I think that they’d have been bursting with joy!

Read the comment on the right about what Easter means for us today

This story doesn’t end on that first Easter Sunday either. It continues today, and it continues with us. Jesus didn’t die only for the people living during Bible times. He died for every one of us (including you, reading this now), so that we can all be a part of God’s family. That means we can be filled with hope and joy and celebrate Easter Sunday knowing that we have God’s love for ever.

by Cara Mott

Scrambled Eggs

Put the eggs below into the correct order to reveal a message from this week’s Bible story. Clue – check out Matthew 28:6!

Check out your Bible –Luke 24:1-12

The First Easter

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.

Keep Following Jesus

We’ve already discovered lots of letters in this series which were written about people who claimed to be Christians but weren’t actually following Jesus. Guess what! It’s time to learn about yet another letter which has the exact same message – because this really was a problem in the early Church!

This letter was written by Jude, who was one of Jesus’ brothers. Jude wrote to a church to encourage them to stand up for what they believed in, because people who didn’t love Jesus had joined their community. These people did whatever they wanted to, even if it went against the teachings found in the Bible. So Jude reminded the church that God would punish these people and that the church shouldn’t have anything to do with them. Instead, they should continue to build their lives on what Jesus had done for them!

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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.

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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!

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When I Grow Up

What do you want to be when you grow up? To help you learn about a job that you might be interested in, we’ve asked a grown-up to tell us all about what they do for work. It’s time to meet an…

Patch’s Problem...? ? ?

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.

Assistant Manager and Cook

? ? ? ?

Hello, my name’s Lula and I’m 21 years old. I grew up in Poland and that has given me a love for travel and languages – I speak English, Polish and Spanish! Since the age of four, my favourite way of getting creative has been through baking and being in the kitchen. I work in our local community café (which is linked with my church) as the assistant manager and assistant cook. No day is the same at the café. I can go from baking cakes to serving customers, mopping the floors to working with volunteers – my job never gets boring! It’s amazing that I get to work with volunteers from all stages of life. I get to learn from them and teach them how to bake. We also have a good laugh together! The best thing about this job is that for some people, the community café is the only place where they can chat to someone else. When I talk to someone, it might be a small part of my week but a huge part of theirs. I love getting to bake all sorts of cakes too! Why not give volunteering in your local community a go? You’ll meet some incredible people and hear amazing stories, all while making a cup of tea!

‘It’s pasture bedtime!’

Where’s the best place to learn about eggs? The hen-cyclopedia! What did the ewe say to her lamb?

Crossword Clues

by Neil Locker

across:

Crossword Clues

1 Easter treat, _ _ _ cross bun. 3 Final meal that Jesus shared with his apostles, the _ _ _ _ Supper. 6 Yellow citrus fruit. 7 Snake-like fish. 8 Small songbird. 10 Coloured part of eye. 12 Chocolate treat, Easter _ _ _. 13 Beginning of a song or story, for example. 15 Bird’s mouth. 16 Word of agreement.

down:

1 Name for the seven days before Easter Sunday (4,4). 2 Male cat. 3 Period of time before Easter beginning on Ash Wednesday. 4 Javelin. 5 Springtime flowers on fruit trees and blooms. 9 Bird of prey. 11 Dairy product used to make Shrove Tuesday pancakes. 14 Object for a child to play with.

Answers on Page 2

Ho ho, ha ha, he he! He he, he he!

What’s the angriest vegetable? A steamed carrot!

What do you call an Easter egg from outer space? An eggs-traterrestrial!

What did the children do when their treats were all hidden on Easter morning? They demanded an eggs-planation!

What do sheep do to fall asleep? They count humans! What happened to the Easter Bunny when he misbehaved? He was eggs-pelled!

Why are the Easter bunnies more tired when Easter’s in April? Because they’ve just finished a long March!

Linkword

by Neil Locker

Competition

building and then finally you get to slowly pull it open to find … a doll based on one of your favourite Disney Pixar films, Toy Story!

If that sounds like the kind of surprise you want, then check out these Disney Doorables Adoorbs dolls. Each doll is inspired by a Toy Story character – Woody, Slinky Dog, Forky or Rex and Trixie – and they have colourful hair and fantastic outfits. There are also five numbered compartments where you can discover Adoorb-able accessories. Even the fold-out packaging can be used for fun – it doubles up as a playful backdrop, making every reveal feel like a special event!

For the opportunity to win a Disney Doorables Adoorbs doll*, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Remember to put ‘Disney Doorables Adoorbs Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 1 May when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by filling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: Disney Doorables Adoorbs Competition, Kids Alive! 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ.

*Styles may vary

Which of these Toy Story characters inspires a Disney Doorables Adoorbs doll?

Buzz Lightyear Mr Potato Head Slinky Dog

Name:

Address: Postcode:

EASTER COLOURING FACT FILE

How much do you know about Easter? If you’ve read most of this week’s issue, then you’ll already know that Easter Sunday is about celebrating that Jesus is alive! However, there are plenty of other eggs-traordinary facts about Easter that we think you’ll want to store in your noggin.

We eat Easter eggs for a reason. Around 80 million Easter eggs will be sold in the UK this year – it seems like everyone loves munching on them! We’ll be eating Easter eggs tomorrow (5 April) because eggs are a sign of new life. This is a reminder of the life that we can find in Jesus!

Easter changes date every year. This is unlike other holidays we celebrate, such as Christmas Day, which is always on 25 December. Easter changes date because it’s always celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. This decision was to stop Christians arguing about when Easter should take place – but it’s probably made everything a bit more confusing!

Eggs aren’t just for eating. In some countries, such as Ukraine, people paint eggs to celebrate Easter. These eggs are called pysanka. In Germany, there’s a traditional Easter game which involves dancing around eggs while wearing a blindfold! This has been taking place since the 16th century.

DECORATE ME

It’s traditional to eat a hot cross bun on Good Friday. This tradition goes all the way back to Tudor England. Back then, it was illegal to eat spiced buns on any day except Good Friday and Christmas (as well as at funerals). The cross on a hot cross bun helps us to remember that Jesus died on a cross for us!

The Easter Bunny used to have a different name! Back in the 1700s, kids in Germany would wait for the Easter Bunny to lay colourful eggs for them. They would make baskets out of grass for the bunny to fill with eggs. Instead of calling this eggs-cellent rabbit the Easter Bunny, kids called him Oschter Haws.

Now that you know a little bit more about Easter, we hop … we mean, hope you have the best day celebrating that Jesus is alive!

An Un-eggs-pected Discovery

By Jacob Adams and illustrated by Philippa Elliott

When Riley cracked open the largest Easter egg she’d found in her garden, she hadn’t been expecting to find a dragon!

In fact, if her foster mum, Angie, had told her that by the end of Easter Sunday she’d have a tiny pet lizard that could breathe fire, then Riley probably would have told her that she was bananas.

Even when Riley found the egg buried beneath the soil, nowhere near the rest of the eggs Angie had hidden, she still believed she’d discovered some scrumptious chocolate to munch on. And when she’d felt the egg shaking in her hands and heard a squeaking from within the shell – well, she still never would have guessed that she was about to have her own pet dragon!

Yet here Riley and Angie were, sitting on their sofa beneath a warm blanket, with a wriggling dragon curled up on Riley’s lap! ‘What are we going to do with it?’ Riley asked Angie, as the dragon let out a smoky yawn.

‘We should probably give it a name,’ Angie told Riley. Riley scratched her head. She’d had a pet goldfish before and it hadn’t been hard to name him, but coming up with a name for a fearsome dragon was a trickier task. What about Smaug, or Toothless, or Sisu or…

‘Easter!’ Riley shouted. ‘We found him on Easter Sunday, so that’s what we should call him.’ Angie smiled. ‘Hello, Easter,’ she said, as she patted the dragon’s head. Easter looked up at her, and a tiny smirk spread across his scaly face.

Over the next few weeks, Riley spent as much time as she possibly could playing with Easter. She took him to the woods, so that he could use his tiny wings to explore the tops of trees. She trained him to eat gummy worms and Fruit Pastels. She even sneaked him into her school, tucked within her backpack.

All the while, Easter grew and grew and grew. Soon he was as big as a mouse, and then he was as big as a cat. By the summer, Easter had grown as giant as a horse. Angie got used to her neighbours complaining about how Easter kept setting the clothes on their washing lines on fire! By now, Easter was too big to sneak to school with Riley – but he was the perfect size to give her a lift to the school gates. She’d climb onto his back and fly off into the clouds. Sometimes, they’d even fly past beautiful rainbows.

It was almost Christmas when Riley remembered all the other Easter eggs she’d collected in her garden on Easter Sunday. They were still sitting in her basket, gathering dust – because Riley had been too excited to think about chocolate! She’d been too excited to think about anything but her new pet dragon!

Riley picked up one of the dusty eggs, slowly peeled off the wrapper, and gave it to her dragon friend. As his sharp teeth munched on the chocolate, she thought about the day she’d found him. She’d been so excited by what she’d discovered that she’d forgotten what Easter Sunday should really be about.

She’d forgotten that Easter Sunday was about something even more amazing than a dragon, and that it was about a true story that should take her breath away. It was about Jesus! Jesus, who was still alive, even now!

Riley patted her dragon on the head, and he gave her a chocolate-smeared smile. As she looked at him, Riley felt glad that she’d given her adorable dragon his name. Every time she’d say his name, she’d remember Easter Sunday, and she’d remember that Jesus was far more exciting than any Easter egg – even one that was hiding a dragon inside!

Gregory

Age? 12.

Favourite Easter food?

Hot cross buns, because they signify the cross.

Favourite part of the Easter story? That Jesus came and died on the cross for sinners like us.

Baby bunnies, chickens or lambs? Lambs, because Jesus was the sacrificial lamb.

Egg painting or egg rolling?

Neither, because the egg part of Easter is pagan.

Favourite Easter hymn?

‘Jesus Christ is Risen Today’.

Do you prefer Christmas or Easter? I like both, because they are brilliant chances to share the gospel.

Tell us an Easter joke. What did the egg say to the bunny? ‘You crack me up!’

Any family Easter traditions? We put a cross up in the garden. What is your hope for Easter? That more people will come to know Jesus through the account of his death and Resurrection.

Age? 8.

Favourite Easter food? Chocolate eggs.

Favourite part of the Easter story? Jesus dying on the cross to save us from our sins.

Baby bunnies, chickens or lambs? Bunnies.

Egg painting or egg rolling? Egg painting.

Favourite type of Easter egg? Aero.

Do you prefer Christmas or Easter? Easter.

Tell us an Easter joke. Why is Easter breakfast fun? Because everyone is cracking yolks!

Any family Easter traditions? Roast lamb for lunch.

What is your hope for Easter? For my friend to come to know Jesus.

Cool Colourings

Check out this Bird Colouring from Samantha, aged 11. Look at the awesome colours she’s used for the bird – doesn’t it look beautiful?

G e t I n T o u c h !

We’d love to have a taste of what’s being created in this colouring from Evelyn, aged 10. Those strawberries look extra scrumptious!

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

Both of these colourings are amazing! I’m off to look at some more cool colourings as I tuck into my Easter treats! Happy Easter!