Kamo Intermediate School bookworms ready for national Lit Quiz competition

Emma Cunningham, Anna Peke, Ben Magee and James Henderson-Biss are reading their way to the national Lit Quiz competition. Photo/Michael Cunningham

If you ask a group of 12-year-old bookworms how many books they've read - they laugh.

One estimates it would be in the thousands, the rest say it is hard to know.

But all of this reading paid off for the Kamo Intermediate School Lit Quiz team.

Their extensive book knowledge won the team-of-four the regional Lit Quiz competition - an annual literature quiz for students aged 10 to 13-years held all over the world.

Anna Peke, Emma Cunningham, James Henderson-Biss and Ben Magee said they had been preparing for the competition their whole lives.

"You have to prepare from when you're first born because we can't necessarily do any training because you've read your whole life to do this," Anna said.

The team competed against 29 teams at the Northland regionals held in Kerikeri last month and scored 94 out of 100 at the Northland Competition, the highest score ever internationally was 95 out of 100.

On Sunday, May 28 they will compete at the National Lit Quiz competition in Wellington.

"I'm just so stoked to be offered this amazing opportunity," said Emma.

Anna said the competition was "a bookworm's dream" and with each team member reading about four books a week, they are proud bookworms.

"Reading is really great and I think all of us have been interested in it our whole lives," said James.

Each team member enjoys reading a vast range of books from fantasy, mystery and sci-fi to non-fiction, romance and horror.

Anna's favourite book is The Maze Runner by James Dashner; Emma's is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; James couldn't choose between The Iliad by Homer and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; and Ben enjoys The Eagle in the Snow by Michael Morpurgo.

Ahead of the Wellington competition they have been meeting every week, coming up with their own questions to test each other, and practising questions from last year's final.

They have also have been trying to improve their reaction times as the national competition requires teams to buzz in when they know an answer, rather than writing it down.

If they win, they will be given the opportunity to compete at the international quiz in Canada in July.

"We've got as much chance as any other team," said Ben.

Are you a bookworm? Test yourself with a selection of these 2016 Lit Quiz practice questions.
Which Harry Potter title has sold the most copies?
If you stepped through a lot of winter coats where would you end up?
Who is comic character Phineas' best friend?
Who was the anthropomorphised bear who always addressed people as Mr & Mrs?
Besides Christopher Robin who was Winnie the Pooh's best friend?
What type of long-bladed weapon was very important to carry whenever Lockwood, Lucy and George visited haunted places in the Lockwood & Co series?
What animal forms the bulk of the body of a centaur?

Click here for answers.