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The Teen Art Contest is for teens and by teens. Teens create the art, and teens determine the winners.

The theme for our 2015 Teen Art Show & Contest was Out of This World. Teens were encouraged to think beyond the scope of the everyday and explore a fantastical realm or the deepest depths of space through art.

A HUGE thank you to our sponsors Meininger Art Supply and Her Story Café for donating prizes for the teen artists!

Middle School

Isabella Wright
"Deep Sea Universe"
Middle School - 1^st Place

Andrea Lira
"The World Is Too Big for Us to Hold
Middle School - 2^nd Place

High School

Hector Medrano
"Moon Rise"
High School - 1^st Place

Molly Meyer
"Melted Hearts"
High School - 2^nd Place

Natalia Valentine
Infinite Sky
High School - Coordinators' Choice

Best of Show

Pamela Flores
"Space Encounter"
Middle School - Best of Show

Taylor Logar
"It Looks Cooler Upside Down"
High School - Best of Show

The great David Bowie passed away on January 10, 2016 after an 18 month battle with cancer. What can we say? His legacy cannot be understated. A multi-talented trailblazer who made some of the most powerful music of recent times. I try to think of my favorite, but it's impossible to pick just one, especially since his lexicon is so varied. Perhaps "Heroes", "Space Oddity", or "Changes"? When I hear "Space Oddity" I get goosebumps. "Kooks" is a love song to my six year old daughter. His "Blue Jean" music video opened the door. And that's just his music. Bowie was also an actor, producer, songwriter, and style icon.

Click here to learn more about David Bowie.

Want to hear some Bowie? Try PPLD's Hoopla and Freegal services. Hoopla lets you stream music and temporarily download songs. Freegal allows you to download up to 5 songs per week for free. You will need a valid library card to access these services.

What's your favorite David Bowie song?

PPLD checked out a whopping 8 million titles in 2015! Here are lists of the top ten titles by number of checkouts for 2015. How many of these have you read?

Adult Fiction and Nonfiction

1. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Total Checkouts = 2492
2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Total Checkouts = 1747
3. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee. Total Checkouts = 1218
4. Memory Man by David Baldacci. Total Checkouts = 1149
5. In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides. Total Checkouts = 1005
6. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Total Checkouts = 847
7. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Total Checkouts = 804
8. Gray Mountain by John Grisham. Total Checkouts = 800
9. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler. Total Checkouts = 775
10. 14th Deadly Sin by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro. Total Checkouts = 662

Juvenile Fiction

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Total Checkouts = 1770
2. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Total Checkouts = 923
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney. Total Checkouts = 813
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney. Total Checkouts = 716
5. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. Total Checkouts = 678
6. Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss. Total Checkouts = 625
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Total Checkouts = 620
8. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Total Checkouts = 603
9. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back! by Dr. Seuss. Total Checkouts = 585
10. Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage. Total Checkouts = 577

Teen Fiction

1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. Total Checkouts = 770
2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Total Checkouts = 711
3. The Giver by Lois Lowry. Total Checkouts = 627
4. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. Total Checkouts = 608
5. Paper Towns by John Green. Total Checkouts = 582
6. If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Total Checkouts = 493
7. Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Total Checkouts = 481
8. Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Total Checkouts = 478
9. Four : A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth. Total Checkouts = 446
10. The Death Cure by James Dashner. Total Checkouts = 425

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