Books with author Mr Gareth Jones

Do you have an Elf on your shelf? You will find here time saving solutions for busy parents who want to give the kids a great time with the Cheeky Elves but who are very busy. 50+ good, easily achievable and entertaining ideas, some of which do require some preparation but all of which can be easily practicaly achieved. Many are off the net but I have done what you don't have time to do, and filtered out all the ones that are too complex or just dull.I've also added several of my own that are based on my experience as a drama teacher.I hope you and your children have a great time with them.Merry Christmas.Gareth

Armed to the teeth with ninja know-how, this ultimate fighting force has one goal―to thwart the evil ringmaster's plans for world domination. Ninja-Boom! In Book 8, the Ninja Meerkats receive strange reports from the Australian outback. They fly down under to investigate and discover strange goings-on in the desert. Who else could be behind it but that top-hatted menace, the Ringmaster? He is building missiles to take control of the world. With boxing kangaroos and killer koalas―not to mention the Ringmaster's crew of deadly circus goons―the Ninja Meerkats are on deadly desert mission.

Armed to the teeth with ninja know-how, this ultimate fighting force has one goal―to thwart the evil ringmaster's plans for world domination. Ninja-Boom! In Book 7, the Ninja Meerkats are invited to a mysterious island to take part in an elite fighting competition. But everything on the island is not as it seems, and the Meerkats suspect that the Ringmaster is plotting another of his evil plans. Do the Meerkats have what it takes to become champions in the most deadly contest of all―their fight against the Ringmaster?

Something mysterious and terrible is happening throughout Victorian London: Ghosts are disap¡pearing. When this reaches the attention of the Ghost Bureau, the diligent but clueless Mr. Lapsewood, a paranormal paper-pusher, is sent to investigate, and what he discovers is grave. The Black Rot has arrivedùa voracious spiritual infestation whereby empty haunted houses suck in unsuspecting ghosts and imprison them. Lapsewood's investigation weaves through the plotlines of several other memorable charactersùboth living and deadùincluding an undertaker's son who can see ghosts, a serial throat-slasher reminiscent of Jack the Ripper, an evangelical exorcist, and many more. The living and dead must work together if they hope to destroy the Black Rotùbefore it destroys both the ghost and human worlds. This highly atmospheric and bitingly funny ghost story by successful British author Gareth P. Jones will delight fans of Eva Ibbotson and Neil Gaiman.

Something mysterious and terrible is happening throughout Victorian London: Ghosts are disap­pearing. When this reaches the attention of the Ghost Bureau, the diligent but clueless Mr. Lapsewood, a paranormal paper-pusher, is sent to investigate, and what he discovers is grave. The Black Rot has arrived―a voracious spiritual infestation whereby empty haunted houses suck in unsuspecting ghosts and imprison them. Lapsewood’s investigation weaves through the plotlines of several other memorable characters―both living and dead―including an undertaker’s son who can see ghosts, a serial throat-slasher reminiscent of Jack the Ripper, an evangelical exorcist, and many more. The living and dead must work together if they hope to destroy the Black Rot―before it destroys both the ghost and human worlds. This highly atmospheric and bitingly funny ghost story by successful British author Gareth P. Jones will delight fans of Eva Ibbotson and Neil Gaiman. Praise for Constable & Toop STARRED REVIEWS "Jones has crafted a menacing, spooky Victorian London full of criminals and unfinished business, which is well balanced by the biting satire and buffoonery of the Bureau. Add to that a cast of fascinating, well-wrought characters―from the smarmy and threatening Jack, to the precocious, pot-stirring aspiring journalist, Clara―and it’s a winning combination of macabre atmosphere, whimsical antics, and heartfelt, earnest friendship." --Booklist, starred review "This story is sure to tickle the funny bone and satisfy the taste for some gruesome adventure while appealing to both girls and boys. A fun read that includes intrigue, murder, mystery, and a young damsel who rescues them all." --School Library Journal, starred review "Both spine-chilling and raucously funny, this ghostly Victorian mystery knits humor and horror into a lively supernatural escapade for confident readers." --Library Media Connection, highly recommended "Jones is interested in giving readers more than spooky thrills; his characters have moral heft and are concerned with issues such as culpability, whether people can be considered good if they have done bad things, and the importance of living life to its fullest." --Kirkus Reviews "British author Jones offers a witty take on Victorian ghost stories that mixes dark humor and satire with an almost traditional boy’s adventure format." --Publishers Weekly "It is part mystery, part adventure, and thoroughly delightful." --VOYA

Over the last few decades, economists and psychologists have quietly documented the many ways in which a person's IQ matters. But, research suggests that a nation's IQ matters so much more. As Garett Jones argues in Hive Mind, modest differences in national IQ can explain most cross-country inequalities. Whereas IQ scores do a moderately good job of predicting individual wages, information processing power, and brain size, a country's average score is a much stronger bellwether of its overall prosperity. Drawing on an expansive array of research from psychology, economics, management, and political science, Jones argues that intelligence and cognitive skill are significantly more important on a national level than on an individual one because they have "positive spillovers." On average, people who do better on standardized tests are more patient, more cooperative, and have better memories. As a result, these qualities―and others necessary to take on the complexity of a modern economy―become more prevalent in a society as national test scores rise. What's more, when we are surrounded by slightly more patient, informed, and cooperative neighbors we take on these qualities a bit more ourselves. In other words, the worker bees in every nation create a "hive mind" with a power all its own. Once the hive is established, each individual has only a tiny impact on his or her own life. Jones makes the case that, through better nutrition and schooling, we can raise IQ, thereby fostering higher savings rates, more productive teams, and more effective bureaucracies. After demonstrating how test scores that matter little for individuals can mean a world of difference for nations, the book leaves readers with policy-oriented conclusions and hopeful speculation: Whether we lift up the bottom through changing the nature of work, institutional improvements, or freer immigration, it is possible that this period of massive global inequality will be a short season by the standards of human history if we raise our global IQ.

Legend tells of the Clan of the Scorpion, four mighty meerkats who are armed to the teeth with ninja-knowhow. They are sworn to protect the world from their longtime nemesis, the Ringmaster...Small, deadly and furry, the Ninja Meerkats are four warriors on a mission. In Book 10 in the Ninja Meerkats series, The Ringmaster has stolen the Hammer of Thor, an electrifying weapon that controls thunder and lightning. The Clan race to the deep freeze of the Arctic to put the top-hatted villain's plans to rule the world on ice. But the Ringmaster isn't about to let the meerkats steal his thunder...May battle commence! A hilarious series for boys by Blue Peter Book Award-winning author Gareth P. Jones (The Considine Curse), featuring death-defying meerkat action! Full of comical characters, daft puns, fast dialogue and even faster action, these book are irresistible to boys and girls aged around six to eight years.

Ovid and Lorelli Thornthwaite have been trying to kill each other for so long that neither twin can remember which act of attempted murder came first. But whoever struck first, trying to take each other's lives is simply what they do. Until one day a lawyer arrives at their house to take stock of its contents, and his accompanying son attracts their attention. Soon a new battle evolves - one in which the twins have to work together to solve the mystery of their parents' deaths. Can Lorelli and Ovid overcome their old animosities, and will they ever get to finish that game of chess?