Readers Festival

Specific information on this year’s Readers Festival can be found in this document: http://bit.ly/isln-readers-festival

See general information below.

ISLN Readers Festival

The ISLN Readers Festival is held over two weeks in April/May each year. Ideally, it includes an in-person event at which teams participate in activities related to the Red Dot books and usually involving author or illustrator talks. The ISLN Red Dot Quiz results and the new Red Dot shortlists for the following year are announced during the Festival.

ISLN Red Dot Quiz

The ISLN Red Dot Quiz is an online competition using the year’s Red Dot shortlist books as the source of the questions. (Note: In the past, the format has been face-to-face, but it will always be online going forward.)

It is held annually, asynchronously over the course of a week. Each school decides the timing for each team to take each quiz over the course of the week.

The quiz is a Kahoot, which should take no longer than 60 minutes to run. It is NOT timed but we aim for about 1 min per question. There are 10-15 questions per book, depending upon how many books are used in the quiz category (between 4-8 titles).

Key Details

  • Registration Costs for ISLN MemberSchools:
    • Up to six students = $80
    • Up to 12 students = $160
    • Up to 18 students = $240
    • Up to 24 students = $320
    • Up to 36 students = $400
    • More than 36 students = $480
  • Registration Costs for Non-Member Schools:
    • Up to six students = $100
    • Up to 12 students = $200
    • Up to 18 students = $300
    • Up to 24 students = $400
    • Up to 36 students = $500
    • More than 36 students = $600
  • Team size: Teams should have a maximum of six students; if a school cannot field a team, they can enter an individual
  • Number of teams per school: Each school can enter an unlimited number of teams in each category
  • The competition categories are:
    • Younger Readers (Years 3 to 5 / Grades 2 to 4)
    • Older Readers (Years 5 to 8 / Grades 4 to 7)
    • Mature Readers (Years 8+ / Grades 7+)
  • The ISLN Readers Festival Quiz questions will be shared on Kahoot!
  • Final Quiz titles in each category are a subset of the eight titles on the Red Dot shortlists for the year
  • Practice questions are provided ahead of time

Prizes

  • Winners in each Quiz category will get possession of the Readers Festival trophy for a year
  • 1st place team members will receive medals
  • All participants will receive an online certificate of participation
  • Other gifts and prizes may be donated by sponsors or arranged by individual schools.

    In recent years each winning category team was asked to identify a Singapore children’s charity to which $500 worth of children’s books was donated, thanks to support from ISLN and from A Closetful of Books.

Timeline

  • September: Readers Festival Focus Group formed
  • December: Readers Festival deadlines finalized
  • January / February: Readers Festival Quiz titles announced
  • February: Website updated and registration open
  • April: Final payment for Readers Festival due
  • April / May: Week-long asynchronous Readers Festival Quiz held
  • April / May: Readers Festival held and Quiz winners announced

*NB: At the time of registration, you must include the number of teams and the number of students participating in the Quiz and/or Festival. Student names may be submitted closer to the event if, for example, you have not completed preliminary rounds at your school at the time of registration.

Readers Festival FAQs

Promote the Red Dot books and Readers Festival Quiz and find/create teams, arrange for your teams to meet and read & learn the books. Submit confirmation of teams and participant names. Submit payment. Organize place and time for your teams to do the Quiz. Optional: create activities to do with your teams. Optional: have students create and swap Kahoots with other teams. Optional: attend Readers Festival.
The titles in each category are a subset of the current year's shortlist for the Red Dot Book Awards category. The Red Dot focus groups make recommendations about which books are most suitable for the Quiz -- with the Red Dot and Readers Festival Coordinators having the final say.
In 2023 we had 33 Younger Teams from 5 schools, 80 Older Teams from 7 schools, and 9 Mature Teams from 5 schools. In 2022 we had 42 Younger teams from 4 schools, 79 Older teams from 9 schools, and 10 Mature teams from 5 schools. In 2021 we had 18 Younger Teams from 9 schools, 21 Older Teams from 9 schools, 11 Mature Teams from 6 schools.
The top Kahoot score for each school for a category is determined -- as schools can only have one podium place (1st, 2nd, or 3rd). If there are any tie breakers we use the scores from the tie breaker round.
You can structure your preparation in ANY way that makes it fun and valuable for your students.
An appropriate combination of ISLN Google Group posts (using appropriate Subject Headings, Google Docs (including use of Notifications), the Red Dot Awards website, etc.