The Reading Adventure Continues
The winner of the second round has been announced: Helena Hobohm, a fourth-grader and winner of this year’s Bookworm Challenge in her age group, has also won the reading competition hosted by the Rotary Club of Augsburg-Fuggerstadt. This qualifies her directly for the Rotary District 1841 finals on June 27, 2026, in Miesbach, where children from all over Southern Bavaria will compete in reading aloud.
When Texts Take Flight
At the event held on Friday, May 15, 2026, at Augsburg’s “Wirtshaus unter dem Bogen,” the focus was entirely on the joy of reading. The first task was to read aloud an age-appropriate surprise text in front of an audience. The expert jury selected a classic by Erich Kästner: “The Flying Classroom.” Criteria for evaluation included reading fluency, intonation, pronunciation, and expressiveness.
In the second round, the participants were once again allowed to read their own stories from the Bookworm Challenge. Here, too, they impressively demonstrated how texts truly come to life when presented skillfully and with passion. Although all participants mastered their tasks with flying colors, Helena Hobohm once again emerged victorious. She captivated the jury with her compelling reading of a touching story in which a granddaughter imaginatively tries to cure her grandfather, who is suffering from dementia.
On to the finals!
All the participants were delighted to receive certificates and wonderful prizes, such as card games and books. For Helena, the journey continues: She has qualified to compete in the grand finale of the reading competition for elementary school students in Rotary District 1841, which covers much of southern Bavaria. On June 27, 2026, she will meet many children who love to read from all over southern Bavaria in Miesbach. There will be attractive prizes to win there as well. We offer our heartfelt congratulations on this tremendous success and are keeping our fingers crossed for the finals!
A big thank you goes to all the participants and their families, as well as to everyone who supported this competition with such dedication and enthusiasm: Katrin Krauß-Herkert, CFO of FORUM MEDIA GROUP, who coordinated the collaboration with Rotary, and to Andreas Dürr, Wolfgang Fleischer, and Hans-Eberhard Schurk from Rotary, who served on the jury in Augsburg.
Caption cover photo: Winner Helena Hobohm (from right) with the other semifinalists and the jury of the Rotary Reading Competition. Back row, from left: CFO of FMG Katrin Krauß-Herkert, Andreas Dürr, Wolfgang Fleischer, and Hans-Eberhard Schurk.