What's New!

In 2018, over 70 young authors submitted original stories to PPLD's Teen Fiction Writing Contest. Each story began with the sentence "The letter could not have come at a worse time", which was chosen by New York Times best-selling author Sandya Menon. The young authors in our community took this common beginning and crafted a huge variety of stories that tackled big topics, such as: grief and loss, growing up, building a better world, and the weight of responsibility.

Winners were chosen through anonymous scoring by a group of dedicated PPLD staff members. The three top stories in both the middle school and high school categories were announced at the awards ceremony on July 29, 2018, and will be published in a digital anthology in September.

Middle School Winners:

• 1st Place: "A Girl, A Thousand Shirtwaists, and a Fire" by Molly Heinold
• 2nd Place: "Dear Louella" by Emma Reeves
• 3rd Place: "Elenora" Claire Deeds

High School Winners:

• 1st Place: "The Apiary" by Alexandra Wollinka
• 2nd Place: "An Impossible Choice" by Sophia Mayhugh
• 3rd Place: "A Work-Ruled Vacation" by Shanleigh Glide

Congratulations to all the winners and entrants! Thank you to all the young authors who entered and to those who encouraged them to put their ideas on paper. If you were unable to attend the awards ceremony, your judge's feedback sheet and participation certificate have been mailed to the address listed on your submission form.

Study Buddies returns to East Library on September 11, 2018!
Each Tuesday through March, 6 - 7:30 p.m., teen volunteers will be available to assist grade school kids, Kindergarten through 5^th grade, with homework and reading help.

Only at East Library!

PPLD's Makers in Residence for September/October 2018 were The Reminders (Big Samir and Aja Black), a rare and remarkable musical duo, blending soulful sounds and roots music with insightful messages and thoughtful lyrics. Releasing their debut album Recollect in 2008 and their latest Born Champions in 2012, The Reminders have been recognized and applauded for their work both nationally internationally through concerts, tours, music awards, and television and radio appearances. The duo is constantly and actively engaged with community organizations, schools, universities, delivering workshops, talks, and specially catered performances.

They taught songwriting classes throughout Pikes Peak Library District and hosted open studio hours at Sand Creek Library and Library 21c.

Visit PPLD's Maker/Artist in Residence page for more information about this program.

Race to rearrange molecules and match the challenge formulas in this fun brainteaser logic game! This game is available at our Educational Resource Center.

For ages 8 and up.

Family Place Libraries™ is a network of children’s libraries nationwide who believe that literacy begins at birth and that libraries can help build healthy communities by nourishing healthy families.

Family Place Libraries feature:

• Specially designed spaces
• Programs for ages 0 - 5
• Materials and resources for parents
• Family support services

Our Family Place Libraries also offer extensive collections of toys that are developmentally appropriate for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Research shows that play fosters a variety of skills that children need: social, physical, intellectual, creative, and emotional. Through play, children express feelings, communicate, build imagination and vocabulary, and develop eye-and-hand coordination; all vital steps in their journey toward reading and writing.

Your Family Place Libraries

Due to popular demand, the ERC now has a set of over 130 magnetic Magna-Tiles for even more building fun! Create flat, colorful mosaics or awesome 3D structures. This game is available at our Educational Resource Center.

For ages 3 and up.

July is World Watercolor Month! Many illustrators use watercolors to paint pictures in children’s books. If the watercolors are transparent (see-through), they can be used by themselves or in soft layers. Some watercolors are opaque, (not see-through).

Here is a list of a few illustrators who use watercolors, (in red). Find the book by looking under the author in the JEasy section of the library, or by asking your friendly librarian. Look closely at the pictures and see if they look transparent or opaque. Don’t forget to pull out your own watercolors, and give watercolor painting a try! Click on the pdf link below to see the list of books:

Supplies:

• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Rubber bands
• Small box/container
• Paper cut to fit the bottom of the box

Steps:

1. Put a piece of paper in the bottom of the box.
2. Stretch the rubber bands across the top of the box.
3. Use a paintbrush to cover your rubber bands with paint.
4. Pull on the bands to splatter the paint on to your paper.

Congratulations to the winners of All Pikes Peak Writes, PPLD's adult fiction writing contest. PPLD received over 60 submissions this year. The five winning stories were announced at an award ceremony on Saturday, May 5.

You can read the winning entries by clicking here.

First Place
“In the Shadow of the Mountain” by Leisel Hufford

Second Place
“A Rational List” by Sandra Hendricks

Third Place
“Hungry” by Davyne DeSye

Honorable Mention
“Checkmate” by Molly Bailey
“Friends Aside” by Ann Amicucci

“By the sea, by the sea….By the beautiful sea!
You and me, you and me…Oh how happy we’ll be!”

June is “The Great Outdoors” Month! Oceans and lakes, sea creatures and mermaids! Stop at the library for a great book…but make sure to keep it out of the water! Click on pdf below for reading list.

Set off a chain reaction of tumbling fun with our new Tumble Stars game! Enhance your child’s fine motor skills and strengthen their basic foundations of physics and spatial relationships while having fun in the process! This game is available at our Educational Resource Center.

For ages 3 and up.

Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) is pleased to announce the selected titles for All Pikes Peak Reads (APPR) 2018, which will run from September 10 - November 17.

For a complete list of events, click here.

Our selected adult title is The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom by Helen Thorpe. The book explores themes of diversity, multiculturalism, compassion, immigration, endurance, resiliency, and hope. PPLD will use these themes while planning programs of community interest. Our selections for teens and children titles also explore similar themes. (For a list of book club discussion questions for The Newcomers, click here.)

Our title for teens and young adults is Flying Lessons and Other Stories edited by Ellen Oh. Flying Lessons was published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books.

Our children's title is Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña. Last Stop on Market Street was the 2016 Newbery Award winner.

This fall we will present a variety of programs to the community including author visits, film screenings, community discussions and panel presentations, theater productions, art installations and gallery exhibitions, and more. We will be undertaking many of these with our community partners.

We are delighted that our selected authors will be able to join us in the fall. Helen Thorpe will be visiting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 2 at Library 21c. Matt de la Peña (who also wrote a short story included in Flying Lessons and Other Stories) will visit at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 8 at Library 21c.