The scenarios and characters in the Smart-Kids series have been carefully selected to be representative a diverse variety of South African learners.
Children should easily be able to identify with the characters and situations presented.
Many children have expressed that they like a specific character, this bond with the character can encourage them to read a story that includes the character or provide that extra motivator to complete an activity which features artwork of their favourite Smart-Kid.
Age: 1
Family: Lives with Emma and her family.
Languages: Dog
Favourite food: Anything, including stinky socks.
Favourite toys: Socks
Things I enjoy doing: Running away with things that people are using (like socks and pencils).
Age: 6
Family: Lives with Jody and her Dad.
Languages: Cat
Favourite food: Left-over milkshake.
Favourite toys: None. Toys are for dogs!
Things I enjoy doing: Sleeping and watching everything.
Age: 284 days
Family: Lots of brothers and sisters back at the pet shop (or wherever they are now), but none as clever as the cleverest me!
Languages: Rat
Favourite food: Cheese
Things I enjoy doing: Peeking out of Rashied’s pocket, hitching a ride on Stinky’s back, skateboarding, but mostly making Honey go CRAZY!
Age: 3
Grade: Preschool
Family: I live with my Mom and my baby brother.
Pets: Honey is the smartest cat in the world. She lives with my friend Jody up the road, but Honey plays with Ossie and I while Jody is at school.
Languages: English and Afrikaans.
Favourite food: Peanut butter sandwiches are my favourite favourite food!
Favourite clothes: I like my purple pants the most of all my clothes – or anything that I can play in comfortably.
Favourite school work: I love reading books with my Mom and making things like iced-biscuits.
Favourite toys: Ossie is my toy ostrich and my best friend. Ossie and I go everywhere together!
Things I enjoy doing: I love to make pretend tents out of all kinds of things. My mom is always telling me to put all the towels and blankets away!
Age: 2
Grade: Preschool
Family: I live with my Mom, Dad, my big sister Emma who is five and my very big brother Kurt who is 10.
Pets: Stinky lives with us.
Languages: English and French.
Favourite food: Jelly and apple fruit juice.
Favourite clothes: I like new ones – not ones that Emma and Kurt are finished wearing.
Favourite school work: I like scribbling and drawing!
Favourite toys: Emma’s toys are my favourites, but I’m not allowed to play with them much. I love to play with my drum, especially very early in the morning when everyone else is sleeping!
Things I enjoy doing: Drawing and singing and clapping and dancing. I also love chasing Stinky, especially when he takes my socks and runs away with them!
Age: 4
Grade: Preschool
Family: I live with my Mom and Dad and Granny.
Pets: I don’t have any pets at the moment, but really want a frog for my birthday!
Languages: isiZulu and English.
Favourite food: Watermelon.
Favourite clothes: Shorts and t-shirts and my red cap.
Favourite school work: I love learning new things and I always asks a LOT of questions.
Favourite toys: I love my fishing rod and my soccer ball the best!
Things I enjoy doing: I love making things – the messier the better. I also love to kick, hit and bounce balls.
Age: 5
Grade: Preschool
Family: I live with my Mother, Father and brother, Kurt, who is in Grade 4 and my baby sister, Mika, who is nearly 2.
Pets: Stinky
Languages: English, French, isiXhosa.
Favourite Food: Red lollipops.
Favourite Clothes: Pink clothes, skirts and t-shirts.
Favourite School Work: I love English, especially listening to stories and making up stories.
Favourite Toys: Trampoline, skipping rope and teddies.
Things I Enjoy Doing: Skipping, hopping and bouncing.
Age: 6
Grade: 1
Family: I live with my Granny and I go and visit my aunts and uncles and cousins in the holidays.
Pets: None, but I would love to get some fish.
Languages: English and isiXhosa.
Favourite Food: Fruit bars.
Favourite Clothes: Golf shirts.
Favourite School Work: I love Numeracy, especially working out story sums.
Favourite Toys: Microscope and soccer ball.
Things I Enjoy Doing: Experiments, number games, soccer, listening to my Granny’s stories.
Age: 7
Grade: 2
Family: I live with my Dad.
Pets: Honey, the smartest cat in the world!
Languages: English
Favourite Food: Bubble gum
Favourite Clothes: T-shirts and shorts or jeans.
Favourite School Work: Maths, especially when we have to do lots of sums really quickly!
Favourite Toys: Game console and my cellphone.
Things I Enjoy Doing: Karate, climbing trees, swimming, playing with my friends, playing computer games, reading comics.
Age: 7
Grade: 2
Family: I live with my Mom, Dad and my two sisters. My Granny also lives with us. My sisters don’t really like my bug collection that much so they stay out of my room!
Pets: Not at the moment, but I’ve asked for a big hairy spider and a snake for my birthday.
Languages: Afrikaans and English.
Favourite Food: Toffee and chocolates.
Favourite Clothes: Sports togs; T-shirts and shorts.
Favourite School Work: I don’t like schoolwork as much as playing sport, but I try really hard in all my subjects.
Favourite Toys: Bike, soccer ball, cricket set, fishing rod and bug box.
Things I Enjoy Doing: Playing all kinds of sport (cycling, soccer, cricket), playing the drums, fishing with my Dad.
Age: 8
Grade: 3
Family: I live with my Mom and Dad. I have an older brother who lives in London. He is coming to visit us soon.
Pets: None, but I would really love a rabbit or two.
Languages: Sotho, English, Afrikaans.
Favourite Food: Smartz chocolate balls covered in candy.
Favourite Clothes: I like trendy clothes with lots of girly accessories. I also love bags, jewellery and scarves!
Favourite School Work: I likes all my schoolwork, but I enjoy music lessons the most!
Things I Enjoy Doing: Singing, listening to music and doing hip-hop dancing.
Age: 13
Grade: 7
Family: I live with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins. My mom died when I was little and my Dad works in the Middle East, but he comes to visit me often and phones twice a week. I love my new family a lot. But every now and again . . . late at night . . . I wish my mom was here to hug me. I’m not always as tough and upbeat as my friends think.
Pets: Einstein the maddest and raddest rat in the south.
Languages: Afrikaans and English and a little bit of isiXhosa.
Favourite food: Corn chips and flavoured water – especially with my Aunt’s famous chicken curry.
Favourite clothes: Jeans and T-shirts or cargo pants and shirts.
Favourite school work: Maths
Favourite toys: If you’re looking for techno stuff, I’m your man. My fav things are my Playstation, Cool cellphone (its one my Dad isn’t using any more, but still super cool! And my rugby ball signed by John Smit. Oh and my dad just bought me a great new book about South African rugby called Play Rugby.
Things I enjoy doing: Playing with gadgets, playing rugby and cricket, hanging out with my cousins and helping Einstein make Honey go crazy!
Age: 11
Grade: 5
Family: I live with my Mom and Dad and two brothers. My mom loves running and my dad plays soccer every weekend. I’ve got two annoying little twin brothers. They are embarrassingly naughty at school. Maybe I run so fast because I’ve been practicing running away from them for so long!
Pets: None at the moment, but I’d love to own a race horse one day.
Languages: isiZulu, English and Afrikaans.
Favourite food: Biscuits and fizzy drinks.
Favourite clothes: I’m always in sports clothes! My friends joke about it all the time. My running gear, soccer kit and karate suits are my favourites!
Favourite school work: I just love numbers and working out story sums. I also really like seeing how different people use different methods to work out the same sums and we all get the same answer!
Cool stuff: Karate suit, scooter and my computer games.
Things I enjoy doing: Running, swimming, karate, soccer, skipping, playing computer games and watching movies.
Age: 10
Grade: 4
Family: I live with my Mom and Dad and my little sisters. Emma is five and she is in Grade R at my school. Mika is only two and she is really NOISY.
Pets: Stinky
Languages: English, French and isiXhosa.
Favourite food: Popcorn, raisins and energy drinks.
Favourite clothes: I like casual clothes like baggy trousers, my favorite cap and cool T-shorts. I’d like to look like a real skater boy, but my parents don’t always agree with me!
Favourite school work: I love English, especially reading. When I’m not whizzing down the pavement on my J-board, you’ll probably find me curled up on my bed with a cool book. Right now I’m reading a great new series about a South African kid called Jason Justus. Jason plays great rugby and loves mysteries with his friends. You should read it too.
Cool stuff: J-board, my cellphone and my new cricket bat.
Things I enjoy doing: Reading, skateboarding, rugby and cricket.
Age: 12
Grade: 6
Family: I live with my Mom, younger sister, my Aunty and two cousins and my Gran and Grandpa. I love my big happy family – even when they get a bit crazy. But sometimes I need to find my own space and be quite by myself.
Pets: Honey, the smartest cat in the world has adopted me. When it gets too mad at my house, she slinks out and finds a quiet space at Jody’s place. We pretty much share her!
Languages: English and a bit of Afrikaans, Zulu and Hindi.
Favourite food: Samoosas, jelly sweets and fruit juice.
Favourite clothes: I love real girls’ clothes. My favourites are skirts and tops, dungarees or anything pink or mauve!
Favourite school work: Art, music, dancing and creative writing.
Cool stuff: My new art easel and special art paper, paints and pencils. Oh and my hot pink electric guitar!
Things I enjoy doing: Drawing, painting, writing, reading and watching movies.
Age: 12
Grade: 6
Family: RoboMom, RoboDad and Spinner.
Pets: Dronomouse, my drone.
Languages: English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, Classic Code and Emoji Code.
Favourite food: Pixelpop cereal.
Favourite clothes: My astronaut suit.
Favourite school work: Coding & Robotics.
Favourite toys: My LED puzzle cube.
Things I enjoy doing: I love playing tag with my robot friends in the park and hanging out with my best buddies, the Smart-Kids!
Age: 8
Grade: 3
Family: RoboMom, RoboDad and Robo.
Pets: TurboTed
Languages: English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, Classic Code and Emoji Code.
Favourite food: Plasma Slime pancakes.
Favourite clothes: Cowboy Bot.
Favourite school work: Coding & Robotics.
Favourite toys: My holographic dancing mat.
Things I enjoy doing: I love going on adventures with Robo and my Smart-Kids friends. Most of all, I love spinning like crazy. I love dancing like nobody is watching and chasing leaves int he wind.
