Talented twins

They are identical, talented, and have adorable smiles which attract others to them. According to their mother, they feed on books. Who are we talking about?

Isivara Umayanga and Induwara Udayanga Karunarathne, the talented twins have made their parents proud. They are just 10 years old, but have read over 1,000 books. Not only that, they also launched the first book written jointly by them, titled 'Aiyai Mallyi' recently. The book consists of stories written by the two brothers. This is their first book, but their hopes of putting out another book are high.

The two young writers attend Sirimavo Bandaranaike Model Primary School at Matale. Their teachers, friends and especially their principal have praised the twins for their talent and discipline.

They are not only talented in writing, but also in studies and have shown their colours at the year five scholarship examination where Isivara and Induwara scored 164 and 165 respectively.

It is their father's habit of reading books that has passed onto them. According to their father, Neil Priyantha Karunarathne, they all read the same books. It had been their father's guidance which had prompted and encouraged them to write a book of their own. Their father used to correct the short stories written by them.

But, during the scholarship examinations, they had been banned from reading books by their father. This was because he had been worried that the children will not be able to concentrate on their studies, if they kept on reading books. Their mother described how they finish their school work in a rush so that they can start reading. "I can feed them anything, if they are reading," their mother, Sujatha Ranasinghe said. "Sometimes, I have seen them even acting out what they have read," she added.

Their grandparents too had planted the seed of reading in the two boys. When they were small, their grandparents had told stories for them, and when they could read, they had been encouraged to read more and more.

They are really happy to be twins, and think it's fun to be born together. Sometimes, they feel they wouldn't have been able to write a book if they had not been that close.

"When they fight, we don't try to intrude because after a while, they will side with each other and start talking against us," their mother said.When I asked about their ambitions, Isivara said that he wants to be a doctor, while Induwara replied that he wants to be a detective.

Their parents started to laugh at their answer and I was keen to know why. The father said that the boys' favourite story is Sherlock Holmes and they want to be like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Their favourite cartoons are Scooby Do and Sakwala Dangayo.

Books contain gold, so read books and write stories as much as you can. Some day, your efforts will be recognised," was the twins advice for the children.

The twins wanted to thank their parents, their principal, teachers and friends who had helped them a lot.The proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to their school fund.

Janani Amarasekara

National Geographic Kids sets Guinness record

It's official! At a December 6 ceremony at National Geographic's Washington D.C., headquarters, National Geographic Kids set a Guinness World Record for the world's largest gathering of plush toys - 2,304 to be precise! Since June, stuffed animals have been sent in by National Geographic Kids readers from countries all over the world, including Japan, the Czech Republic and Norway.

The record was officially witnessed by Toys for Tots representative Staff Sgt. Johnny Noble, WUSA-TV 9

 chief meteorologist Topper Shutt, and Washington Capital's mascot 'Slapshot'. National Geographic Kids magazine Editor-in-Chief Melina Bellows officiated at the ceremony, and the record was accepted by Guinness representative Stuart Claxton.

At the ceremony, National Geographic Kids reader Shawn from Newburgh, New York also received a certificate of outstanding achievement for organising a drive at his school to collect stuffed animals.

The 237 animals that seven-year-old Shawn contributed were the largest single donation in the record. In addition to setting a new world record, the toy collection serves a good cause.

All of the stuffed animals were donated to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots programme, which collects new toys to distribute to needy children during the holiday season. "It was really fun seeing all the different kinds of animals readers sent in," said Rachel Buchholz, National Geographic Kids' special projects editor, who organised the record-setting effort.

"But it was even better knowing that all the stuffed animals will be given to needy children."

National Geographic Kids