“Two households, both alike in dignity” are the opening words in which famous play?
What is the title of chapter one in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone?
If you said Romeo and Juliet and “The Boy Who Lived,” you’re right in step with the kids at Sedgwick Middle School in West Hartford, where a team of students—coached by English teacher Dr. Sara Tamborello and library media specialist Shannon McNeice—took first place in the U.S. National Kids’ Lit Quiz Championship. A competition for children ages 10–13, Kids’ Lit tests students’ literary knowledge, with questions on a wide range of books, authors, and genres.
Sedgwick’s winning team even had the chance to compete for the world title earlier this month at a competition in Canberra, Australia. They matched wits with teams from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand. While they didn’t come home with the international grand prize, the experience of competing against teams from around the world is one they’ll never forget.
“We are thrilled to be able to promote a love for books and reading that led to this amazing opportunity,” says McNeice, “and we’re proud to showcase our students’ literary knowledge.”
“Kids’ Lit is a club of remarkable readers—an absolute joy,” says Tamborello. In an interview with WFSB Channel 3, she told reporters, “They love the journey that reading puts them on, and they have a passion and enthusiasm for anything book-related.” Watch the televised segment.
Ready, set, read, remember
Tamborello and McNeice spend all year preparing with their students, meeting once a week to help them sharpen their skills and knowledge, practice being scribes and running answers to the judges’ table, working in pods of four, going through heats and rounds with themes, and enlisting the help of a quizmaster from New Zealand to work with them.
While West Hartford is a well-resourced district that supports education spending, the two educators point out that any school can participate.
“You just need one interested adult,” says Tamborello, who began Kids’ Lit as a school-day activity. “I would encourage anyone who’s thinking about it to visit Kids’ Lit’s website and reach out to their coordinator.”
As for Sedgwick students’ trip, they roomed in the dorms of Canberra Grammar School July 8–12. In addition to competing in the world finals, their itinerary included an evening of dinner and getting-to-know-you activities with students from other countries, movie night, an author meet-and-greet, and excursions to historic Kingston, the National Library of Australia, and the National Zoo and Aquarium.
Goals back home
Around the state and country, constant challenges to curriculum and reading materials have made the work of English teachers, certified library media specialists, and others more difficult, and Tamborello and McNeice have testified in support of legislation that creates due process, transparency, and guardrails with the State Department of Education against those looking to pull books because of racist, political, or other agendas.
“Some of the attempts at censorship and book banning come from people who aren’t parents and aren’t even local,” says McNeice. “Fortunately, in West Hartford we have a very fair, transparent process for reconsideration of materials. Parents can file forms, and everybody is welcome to question, but we have clear procedures for choosing our collection of books.”
Budget cuts throughout the state have eliminated library media specialists in many schools, but in West Hartford’s case, McNeice adds, “Our town is really committed to literacy for all students, which supports our role. It’s critical to have a certified library media specialist with the expertise to select appropriate materials for children, manage resources, and defend students’ right to read.”
