Four students from West Hartford’s King Philip Middle School won the 2026 Kids’ Lit Quiz World Championship, held this year in New Zealand.

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After spending weeks in New Zealand, a four student reading team from King Philip Middle School has returned home as world champions.

Amy Long, A.J. Salerno, Jillian Forrest, and Vera Kozmin, along with their coach and library media specialist David St. Germain, traveled to the historic Bay of Islands in New Zealand in early July for the culmination of a seven month-long worldwide competition called the Kids’ Lit Quiz. The King Philip team had won the national finals of this literature trivia competition in January, securing its spot as the U.S. representative.

In the Bay of Islands, the group spent almost a week with elite literary teams from seven other nations (New Zealand, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Canada, Thailand), enjoying cultural and literary programming put on by the Kids’ Lit Quiz organization, their volunteers and donors, meeting national literary figures, and being interviewed about the experience by the country’s national media.

And in the exciting final competition at the end of the week, the U.S. team won first place and was named 2026 Kids’ Lit World Champions. The final competition took place on Friday, July 10, (but team members have just returned home in the last week after touring the nation) and supporters from West Hartford and around the globe tuned in to the live stream (now a recording) at 9 p.m. EST as teams put their knowledge of children’s literature to the test for more than two hours.

The quiz featured eight previously unknown categories – ranging from cryptids and giants to graphic novels and love stories – alongside the competition’s two recurring authors and titles categories.

The U.S. team delivered a dominant performance. After seizing the lead in the third round, King Philip held the top position through the 10th and final round, finishing with 43 points. Host country New Zealand took second place with 31 points, while Hong Kong placed third with 23 points.

For their achievement, the King Philip students received the World Finals trophy, and each also received a cash prize of $1,000 NZD and a personalized book selection handpicked by Quizmaster Wayne Mills. The school’s name was also etched on a loving cup that holds the names of previous winners from the game’s three decade history – it will reside at King Philip Middle School for the year until it is returned to the organization for the 2027 winner.

This is only the second time the U.S. team has won first place in the world competition, the last being by a Virginia team in 2019 in Singapore.

“The kids are so excited. Despite winning nationals with one of the highest scores founder Wayne Mills has ever seen, they kept working incredibly hard to prepare for the world final,” said St. Germain, who co-coached the team and accompanied the students to New Zealand. “It shows how West Hartford supports reading. A culture of literacy starts at home and is fostered in our school libraries and classrooms. This win is the outcome of that partnership – our students’ success represents a collective effort to instill a lifelong love of reading.”

The broader King Philip Kids’ Lit program includes more than 30 students who practice weekly throughout the school year, guided by co-coaches and language arts teachers Carissa Teff and Kimberly Harrell. And it took a village to get this year’s team to New Zealand. Though accommodations, transport and events in New Zealand were all paid for by the Kids’ Lit Quiz organization, which is funded by the Wright Family Foundation and other New Zealand donors, the students had to pay for their own airfare and fundraised locally which included 58 generous GoFundMe and other direct contributions, a donation from the Rotary Club of West Hartford, a stint as guest booksellers at River Bend Books, and movie nights at King Philip Middle School.

As for the event itself, “Starting with the very first event where Amy and I played book character Pictionary with the Thailand and Hong Kong teams, all the way through the very last night of staying up late and bonding with teammates, it was an amazing experience,” said team member Jillian Forrest. “I am really proud of my team for coming in first, and I hope to stay in touch with the friends I met.”

Other standout experiences for the team included a writing seminar led by national reading ambassador and acclaimed author Kate De Goldi, a program by a representative from the New Zealand National Library on the Maori new year – Matiriki – which occurred during their stay in-country, a Maori cultural show, and a cruise in the Bay of Islands.

Demonstrating their literary passion on a global stage, team member A.J. Salerno was interviewed by renowned broadcaster John Campbell for New Zealand national radio, while Amy Long delivered a speech on The Chocolate War to a standing ovation at the Paihia Gala Dinner.

“We want to extend a sincere congratulations to the team, their coaches, Mr. St. Germain (who went to NZ), Mrs. Teff, and Mrs. Harrell, whose coaching throughout the year helped support our students,” states a message in the school’s newsletter, KP Connect. “Their ability to compete would not have been possible without individual donations, the Rotary Club of West Hartford, and all the parents/caregivers and students who cheered the team on and supported their efforts throughout the year.”

Created more than three decades ago by University of Auckland professor Wayne Mills, the Kids’ Lit Quiz celebrates the joy of reading and challenges students ages 10 to 13.

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