Ames Chen

Ames began her career as a Humanities teacher and later left the service to teach English voluntarily in parts of China and Southeast Asia. Ever passionate about education, she switched to part-time leadership and communications training after she became a mum. Currently taking care of her third child, a week-old new born (at the time of writing), she has intentionally chosen to pen Children’s Books has she believes in the potential of the next generation to exact change. Through simple language and real-life stories, she hopes that the marginalised people in society will become increasingly visible.

The Invisible People is her first Children’s Book Series. Three books (1) Aunty Goes Home, (2) Uncles at Work and (3) The Bus Driver were released at the National Library’s Festival of Children’s Books in September 2019. 

The Invisible People Back Story

The Invisible People series was born out of a school project (Urban Society) that focused on the marginalised in society. My group focused on Domestic Workers, and the first title Aunty Goes Home was a first created as a proposal recommended as a way to make the general public in Singapore more aware of their often-untold dire situation. Uncles at Work has been the most popular title thus far, focusing on the unfair treatment of migrant workers, with particular focus on construction workers. The final book in the series, The Bus Driver is her daughter’s favourite and has a heart-warming twist at the end.

Upcoming Titles

There are three more titles that are currently being illustrated and will be released soon. These titles will continue to shed light on some of the less glamorous jobs including a cleaner and a security guard.

The aim of the series is to place the limelight of those often in the background and due to real-life interviews and research, the stories in the books are often a combination of more than one true story.