Nyla is trying not to be a birding know-it-all, but it's hard to keep her knowledge about her passion to herself. As her Philadelphia school holds a birding tournament against a more-affluent suburban class, she's determined to lead the City Birders to victory. She'd love to head into middle school being known for something other than her nerdy tendencies. Her best friend, Tasha, is less interested but fully supportive until a misunderstanding between them sees Nyla choose a more-popular birding competitor over her best friend. Now Nyla has to figure out how to balance changing friendships, her beloved birding, and her desire to shift her social status. The sunny story joyfully portrays Nyla's birding passion while skillfully exploring subtle clashes between the majority-Black City Birders and the majority-white Burb Birders, though the competition remains quite congenial. Occasional chapters cleverly present birding notes and study guides, and the quick pace and Nyla's boundless excitement make reading a breeze. A stellar study of friendship and self-acceptance sure to make an avian enthusiast out of anyone.

A fifth grade girl experiments with friendships and grows to love birdsNyla Braun, unkindly dubbed "Encyclopedia Braun" by her classmates, is taking the spring birding tournament between Anderson Elementary's City Birders and Penn Elementary's Burb Birders very seriously. She's determined to count the most birds and learn all the bird songs and calls, allowing her to leave Anderson "on a high." Becoming obsessed with her interests isn't new-but this time, she also wants to improve her social status by leading the City Birders to victory. Nyla's dreams start to come true when the wealthy Portia invites her to study for the trivia portion of the competition. Nyla already has a best friend, but Tasha isn't into birds, and Nyla can't put birding-or her chance at popularity-on hold. Thankfully, Nyla gets abundant support from Aunt Cherise, Granddad, and her parents, who help her with both birding and feelings (even if Nyla sometimes struggles with her mom's relentless positivity). In her debut, Richter skillfully addresses mild tensions between the City Birders (who are mostly Black, like Nyla) and the Burb Birders (who are mostly white) and shows how common interests can unite people. With clear, descriptive writing, a tight storyline, and plenty of bird-related information (including excerpts from Nyla's birding journals and checklists), readers may feel inspired to explore birding, too.Quietly shares hard-won wisdom on friendship as well as a well-informed passion for birding. (author's note, resources)(Fiction. 8-12)