Which Spanish knight thought windmills were his enemy? What special power do the Jedi use, and who had a round table so his knights wouldn't fight?
Those and many other questions were put to Northland's keenest young readers in the regional heat of the 2018 Kids' Lit Quiz held at Kerikeri Primary School on Tuesday.
More than 25 teams took part, each with four members aged 10-13, from Mangawhai Beach School in the south to Kaitaia Intermediate in the north.
Quizmaster Wayne Mills said the key to winning was simple – all the kids had to do was read everything written for children and young adults over the past 200 years.
In the end the $1000 prize for Northland's most knowledgeable readers went to a Kamo Intermediate team made up of Bailey Miller, Mason Gray, Finn Kallu and Laura Shepherd.
The result was the closest in many years with just one point separating the winners from runners-up Matarau School team 2 and third-placed Kerikeri High School team 2.
Bailey, 12, said they would use their winnings to get to the national finals in Wellington in June.
She said the quiz was nerve wracking and some of the questions were really hard, so their win came as a surprise.
''It's, like, I can't really believe it. It feels surreal,'' she said.
Finn, 11, said the team also took part last year when they finished fourth. It helped that they had done the quiz before and knew how it worked.
He was looking forward to representing Northland in the finals.
Laura, 10, whose favourites included horsey authors StacyGregg and Walter Farley and who would read a book a day given a chance, said she was really excited about going to Wellington.
''The quiz was hard but we worked together and figured out the answers together.''
Mason, 11, said his preference was fantasy/mythology writers like Rick Riordan and John Flanagan.
''I read heaps, probably too much — in bed before going to sleep, in the morning if I wake up early, or when I get home if I have time. I think it's a good use of your time, rather than watching TV. With TV you just watch it. You're not using your brain,'' he said.
The winners of the June 10 national champs will compete against nine other countries in the world finals in Auckland in July.
The Kids' Lit Quiz was founded in New Zealand 27 years ago by Wayne Mills, who is still the quizmaster. It has since gone global with more than 8000 children taking part each year.
The questions are drawn from everything from classic children's literature to the latest best sellers.
* In case you were wondering, the answers to the questions in the first paragraph are: Don Quixote, The Force, and King Arthur.