The district decision of the 66th German Book Trade Reading Competition, which took place in the Idar-Oberstein City Library, was organized by the Idar-Oberstein Youth Welfare Office and the Schulz-Ebrecht bookshop. The jury consisted of Sandra Ley (Idar-Oberstein City Library), Annegret Schoch and Kerstin Hub (Niederbrombach Primary School), Sven Kritz (Carl Schmidt bookshop) and Ingrid Raagaard (Nahe Authors' Group). The musical accompaniment was provided by Idar-Oberstein singer/songwriter Samy Wayne, who entertained the audience with her own compositions.
In the competition, the eight school winners from the district were able to put their reading talent to the test and went head to head. The winner, Isabella Schneider, chose her own text from the book "Vier zauberhafte Schwestern: How it all began, Marina and the power of water" by Sheridan Winn. The jury had a very difficult time and sent four participants into the play-off with the third-party text "Die wundersamen Talente der Kalendario-Geschwister" by author Luisa Söllner. Here, the school winner from Birkenfeld Grammar School came out on top. Her reading performance, consisting of reading technique, interpretation and selection of text passages, convinced the jury. As the district winner, Isabella Schneider can now represent the region at the regional competition in Trier.
Around 6,600 schoolchildren from 6th grade throughout Germany take part in the regional competitions in the cities and districts. The regional competitions are organized by bookshops, libraries, schools and other cultural institutions. All participating children receive a certificate and the book "Agnes and the Dream Key" by Tuutikki Tolonen.
The reading competition is organized by the Book Culture and Reading Promotion Foundation of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association and is under the patronage of the Federal President. It aims to spread enthusiasm for books to the public, strengthen children's reading skills and thus support them in broadening their horizons, understanding social changes and developing an openness to new things.