Books with author Christopher Ames

When a soldier has to leave his or her family for extended service, it's an emotional time for all involved. It can be especially confusing and upsetting for children, who long for the comfort and security of a parent's presence. Papa's Backpack honors the bond between a parent/soldier and a child, and acknowledges the difficult and emotional process of separation during deployment. A young bear cub dreams of accompanying Papa when he leaves on a mission, wanting to stay close to provide comfort and moral support, ultimately overcoming adversity together.

Multi-sensory environments in the classroom provide a wealth of stimulating learning experiences for all young children whose senses are still under development.Creating Multisensory Environments: Practical Ideas for Teaching and Learning is a highly practical guide to low-cost cost, easy to assemble multi-sensory environments. With a step-by-step guide to each activity, these creative learning environments focus on multi-sensory experiences and:are designed to stimulate all the sensory channels – auditory, visual, kinaesthetic, olfactory and gustatoryinclude suggestions for extension or differentiation depending on the abilities of your pupils, or the time available encourage creative thinking and learning, and development of social and emotional skills feature clear learning Outcomes, linking with P-Scales for children with special education needscan be set up in your classroom or school hall in just a matter of minutes or be a semi-permanent feature in a small area of the classroom, convenient for use at any given moment. Although these activities will be of particular value for children with sensory impairments, they will also provide stimulating learning environments, as promoted in the themes and principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance. Theory and background to multi-sensory learning is provided to enable you to adapt the suggested scenarios according to the needs of individual learners.This practical and easy to use book is an essential companion for busy classroom practitioners wanting to create a stimulating and meaningful learning environment.

In conjunction with the Powerhouse Museum comes this comprehensive guide to Australia's most innovative inventions as well as their amazing creators.Imagine a world without wi-fi, clotheslines, lawnmowers, Vegemite, dual-flush toilets, or even mousetraps. Weird, huh? These are just a few of the many inventions that have been created by clever Australians to solve some of life's difficult problems. Find out about Australia's most ingenious inventions, their creators, and how to turn a bright idea into a useful innovation. Be inspired!

Keeping My Hope, a historical fiction graphic novel written by 14 year old Christopher Huh, talks about the life of a young teenage boy named Ari Kolodiejski, who is caught in the horrors of the Final Solution. Now as a parent and grandparent, he tells his life story to his grandchildren. After surviving the world's most deadliest camp, he hopes to pass on his life legacy to his family. Ari is a strong and courageous teen who must battle for his life throughout the second world war. Ari is forever scarred from his deep past. Despite being kept prisoner at the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp, seeing the untimely death of hundreds, and forced to endure unbearable conditions in lice infested clothing, Ari keeps his friends close and struggles to live. Throughout his stay in the camp, he meets two inmates who both stand along with him, trying to help as often as they can. Friendship and belief is all they have left, in which the Nazis and the war strip away from the trio and ultimately brings the devastating disaster that awaits. When Ari and his two friends are slowing down in a death march during a blizzard and his friend has frostbite, Ari still helps his friend despite an SS guard approaching them with a pistol. He even claims that "carrying Saul was a challenge" (page 149), but does not want to leave him in the snow, knowing the fate his friend would face. He tries to help and aid his fellow camp inmates whenever possible. During at his stay at Auschwitz III, everyone fears one Kapo guard who is known for being a sadist on the prisoners with a rubber truncheon. Ari not only stands up against the Kapo, he even goes to the point of scaring him too. The guard showed "in his eyes...he was confused, maybe even fearful. Almost as if he was the beaten victim" (page 104). No matter what consequences are to come, he always gives his best effort in order to make a situation better. Throwing himself into the line of fire while no one else would is the shocking reality that made those like Ari from ordinary people to heroes. A true friend and strong Samaritan, Ari Kolodiejski is a person who is stuck with the ability to make anyone into being a friend with him. After his liberation of six years of terror, he tries to rebuild his life to replace the one he lost a lifetime ago. With his family's history stored safely in the minds of his grandchildren, he can now preserve his memories for his great-grandchildren and their children to remember. Keeping My Hope is an excellent book, and an even better one with the character of Ari.

Midnight on Fireworks Island is a hilarious yet deep and compelling story of two mischievous boys sent to Rockweiler Academy for boys, the toughest school in the world since Kremlin high, in Moscow back in forty-five. Rockweiler is a jail for kids too young to be in the main prison system. Rockweiler Academy is notoriously evil. There are stories about a mysterious School Master who could read peoples' minds; they say the punishments are so severe, kids beg to be paddled. For those who not only survive Rockweiler but raise to the top and graduate with honors, there is Fireworks Island; a private Island paradise where you fire off your own personal fireworks display every night.

From author Christopher Mark Stokes; the one behind the bestselling bonfire safety book, Bernie Sparks and Rocky the Rocket, comes this new spooky monster book for the younger audience. A book that is sure to give every child a fun and illustrated rhyming experience. "They're in the wind, They're in the rain... and They're under your bed!" Have you ever wondered what the rain is made of? Or have you ever thought, why does the wind blow? Well the answers to these questions and more come in the form of monsters. These monsters however, are not ones you have seen before; these monsters are strange, these monsters are oddballs… and they are everywhere!

"Pete-O Burrito and the Lucky Stripes is a heartwarming story of a young boy's first time playing baseball at age 5. Pete-O has a love for the game passed down from his family and it is finally his turn to play. Follow along with the young Pete-O as the story takes you through his excitement, disappointment and then excitement again. This is a great message of encouragement, hope and family values. Laugh with Pete-O as he tries to understand the adults in his life, cry with him as he goes through moments of uncertainty and rejoice with him when he realizes what he can do on his own!"

For Adam Parker, his life, as well as his death, is a mystery. Being a spirit can be difficult. For Adam, plagued with many disabilities and crippling headaches, it’s a nightmare. Along with his companion, The Guardian, Adam must find out about his life and death before he becomes lost to this world. Now, he has caught the attention of an evil poltergeist, and is in a race against time, and the evil entity that wants to destroy him.