The Amity Gang
The Amity Gang is a series consisting of a variety of illustrated booklets for young people and adults with learning difficulties. Each story has worksheets.
The main characters are six young friends living in an assisted living. They all need some assistance in daily life and sometimes fall short when life gets complicated. The stories focus on friends, family, community, love, relationships, work, digital and social medias and every day challenges.
The author wants for her readers to discover more about themselves, feelings, strengths and social interactions. And she wants to stimulate their thinking and widen their field of interest.
If you think this mights be something for young people and adults in your country, do not hesitate to contact us. Mail address: post@skaugeforlag.no.
Good Stories Touch Hearts and Minds
The main characters in The Tigers are six young adult friends. They all need some assistance in daily life and sometimes fall short when life gets complicated. But there is no mention of anydiagnoses in text or illustration. The stories focus on friends, family, community, love and relationships, quarrels, work, digital and social medias and every day challenges. I want for my readers to discover something about themselves: Feelings, strengths and independence. I want to stimulate their brains and maybe widen their field of interest. And I want them to see that as a whole they are like most young adults – not so different after all. But above all I want to entertain – because you won’t get anywhere without touching hearts and minds.
Feedback
There is far too little customized literature for adults with learning difficulties. This autumn we bought all booklets, and they have made us very happy! They are recognisable and funny, and they address many current issues. Fantastic! Senior School Teacher
The books are incredible in terms of subject. They are very relevant for the students. They can recognise, reflect on and relate to their own lives based on what we read. Five stars! Senior School Teacher
Books like these have been in short supply, so it is great that we now have them! The students were very keen to hear more about the gang! They did not want the stories to end! Senior School Teacher
If we read on the website that new books are in print, the students can hardly wait till we have them. Senior School Teacher
I was hoping my son (age 21) would enjoy the booklets. Once he started, he could not stop. He LOVES the stories about these friends! Mother
The students love the series. As do students at the day centre, where they read aloud at lunch for everyone. Senior School Teacher
The students love the series because the stories are about young people, like themselves. They can relate to many of the situations. Librarian
My daughter has some other books that she likes too. But they do not compare to the books about these friends. She identifies more with them. Mother
I use the books for individual students. They provide the basis for great conversations and discussions about relevant topics. Senior School Teacher
I think the series are excellent for the level of students I teach. I find that there is little reading material for my students, and that the characters in these stories are people they can identify with. Senior School Teacher
The Booklets Offer a Rich Variety of Topics:
1 Tommy is moving out, but is he ready to be on his own?In spite of what his parents say, he is not convinced, and in addition he thoroughly dislikes changes.
2 In his own apartment and with mum away, Oliver enjoys a new freedom: Going to bed at odd times and shopping using his credit card. The latter however, turns out to have some consequenses.
3 Mary wants to have a boyfriend. Tommy wants to be cool, like James Bond – then he would have no problem finding a girl.
4 Jenny loves her Grandma and visits her every Monday. But one Monday something dramatic happens. It is not easy to watch a loved one get older and die.
5 Kim invites his mates over for pancakes. Only problem is he doesn’t know how to make them. But together they solve the problem.
6 Tommy and Mary have fallen in love. But being in a relationship is something new to both of them. It takes stime to make it work.
7 The friends are planning a party, but they have different ideas about everything from guest list to menu. Working together is not easy.
8 What is a refugee? Kim’s mum was a refugee when she was a child, and now she has a secret she wants to show them.
9 Jenny is the outspoken one, and sometimes even bossy. Is Kim, the more timid one, able to speak his mind when she gets too bossy?
10 Christmas is a only few days away when a mysterious man is spotted lurking around at night – and then a dog is missing.
11 Kim hates money – and banks and numbers and counting. And above all he hates coins. So for years he has put coins in a glass jar.
12 Being in love makes you vulnerable. When Tommy sees Mary in town with another man, he gets jealous. And jealousy hurts.
13 Texting can be fun and useful. But what if you text something you instantly know is wrong, and regret it? In this story Mary gets in trouble.
14 It’s a week before Christmas, and Jenny sees happy families everywhere.Her parents are divorced and she doesn’t know where she belongs any more.
15 Lisa’s ex turns up, and her new boyfriend Oliver finds out through a posting on Facebook. Is his relationship in danger?
16 Tommy’s workmate does not like to shower and change clothes. He stinks! Tommy wants to help, but how?
17 A whale is found dead on a beach, it’s stomach filled with plastic. Is the ocean polluted? The gang wants to find out more.
18 Winter holiday in a cabin in the mountains sounded like a good idea. But that was before the friends discovered there were no Internet signals.
19 Lisa has lost her job, and is depressed and angry. But she doesn’t give up, and sets out to find a new one.
20 Jenny misses her brother. So when he turns up with a friend, she’s excited. The friend, however, turns out to be more than just a friend. (About being gay.)
21 Emily is working in the assisted living. But now she is pregnant and will be leaving in a few weeks, an announcement that leads to sorrow and fear.
22 Oliver is in a bad mood. He is fed up with nagging. Parents going on about the importance of healthy food and fitness, care
persons about tidying and dish washing.
23 Tommy’s workmate finds out that bees are dying all over the world. So he sets out to save them, andtransforms his lousy veranda into a flowering garden.
24 When The Amity Gang get to know Christine,
who is blind, and her boyfriend Roy, who is visually impaired they all have to rethink their prejudices.
25 It is not easy to be young and insecure. To quit school, starting a new job or moving out. Kim meets a young boy burdened by all the changes in his life, and Kim comforts him.
26 In Spain the gang meet a young man their age. He is a refugee, living on the beach. But once they get to know him they discover that, in spite of differences, they have a lot in common.
27 Oliver and Tommy want to play tricks on the girls to scare them a little. But Mary and Jenny are not so easily scared.
28 Tommy and Mary are not as happy as they were at the start of their relationship. Have they grown tired of each other? Jenny, the proactive one in the group, sets out to help.
29 Not everyone wants a girlfriend or boyfriend. Some would rather have just a good friend. Jenny and Mary set out to ask people about friends and friendship.
30 Kim is being bullied. One day in the swimming pool something dramatic happens. Luckily his friends are there.
31 Jenny and her friend Morten are going to watch a football match on TV, but they end up sneaking into a hospital instead.
32 A new girl is moving in with The Amity Gang. Her name is Alina. But her new flat is full of surprises.
33 Tommy’s workmate has applied for a job at a recycling plant. But as usual, things don’t work out the way he had planned.
34 Some girls and boys kling to their partner all the time. This is not good. We all need to spend some time on our own and to be with our friends.
35 Kim and Lisa have been together for a short time when a serious accident puts their relationship to the test.
36 Oliver is in his family cabin skiing. But it’s not like before. His sister’s noisy toddlers get all the attention.
37 Oliver has got a girlfriend. Her name is Lisa, and she has a cat. Oliver hates cats, but he’s afraid to tell her.
38 An invitation to an island in the north of Norway means fishing, boat life, midnight sun and excitement. But the sea can also be dangerous.
39 In this last story, there is a big party where you meet friends and family from all the previous stories.