Middle school students participate in annual ‘Birbery’ at local library

BIRMINGHAM — Once again, Birmingham middle school students will participate in the “Birbery,” Birmingham’s take on the Newbery award. This annual reading challenge has been a Birmingham tradition since 2011 and encourages students to read in a fun and engaging way.

Students who are in sixth-eighth grade at Birmingham Public Schools’ middle schools — Birmingham Covington School, Berkshire Middle School and Derby Middle School — come together to determine their favorite books during the Birbery.

Each year, library staff chooses 10 books that they think would be enjoyed by students and include a range of characters and genres. Once the books are chosen and announced to the public, eligible children have months to read the books.

At each school, librarians quiz students on the books. The students with the highest scores are invited to a luncheon at the Baldwin Public Library — where they are transported via a limousine — to talk about the books with other Birmingham students and vote on their favorites. Five students from each school are chosen to join the luncheon.

This year, the Birbery began on Jan. 27, when the books were announced. The luncheon at the library will take place on May 16.

The books for this year’s Birbery include, “The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman” by Gennifer Choldenko, “The Enigma Girls” by Candace Fleming, “First State of Being” by Erin Entrada Kelly, “Faker” by Gordon Korman, “Medusa” (Myth of Monsters #1) by Katherine Marsh, “The Sherlock Society” by James Ponti, “The Last Dragon on Mars” by Scott Reintgen, “The Bletchley Riddle,” by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, “Deep Water” by Jamie Sumner, and “A Royal Conundrum” (The Misfits #1) by Lisa Yee.

The Newbery is a prestigious award for children’s literature, given by the American Library Association. “The First State of Being” is The 2025 Newbery Medal winner.

“This is the first year that the winning Newberry title is included in the list of the 10 books that the kids are reading this year,” said Rebekah Craft, the library director at Baldwin Public Library. “Usually, kids are not swayed by the Newberry title, and they always vote for whatever one that is of interest to them. So, it’s always fun to see what they pick and like the best.”

All of the books chosen for the Birbery were published in 2024 and are by a United States citizen or resident. They were also deemed appropriate for middle-schoolers and span a variety of reading levels.

“We try to pull one from different areas, and we try to make sure that we’ve really got a large variety,” Stephanie Klimmek, head of youth services at the Baldwin Public Library, said. “We also are trying to make sure that they’re going to be books that the kids will like.”

Books chosen for the Birbery each year have a reputation for being of high quality, according to Klimmek. She said they sometimes have patrons come in and ask for a list of past Birbery winners to help them pick their next good read.

For more information about the Baldwin Public Library, visit baldwinlib.org.