The Kindness Club: Designed by Lucy

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The Kindness Club: Designed by Lucy

Audio CD(MP3 on CD)

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Audio CD(MP3 on CD)
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Overview

Creative and fashion-forward Lucy Tanaka was thrilled when Chloe Silver moved to town. Together with Theo Barnes, they formed The Kindness Club, testing different acts of kindness on their friends, neighbors, and siblings. One day, Lucy learns that their classmate, Serena, recently lost her mother. On top of that, it's Serena's birthday next weekend. Lucy is determined to lift Serena's spirits, and she knows the perfect way to do it - rallying the Kindness Club to throw Serena the best birthday party ever at her family's bowling alley.

But as unexpected complications arise that threaten to ruin the party, can Lucy find another way to help her new friend during this hard time?

Inspired by kindness projects and anti-bullying campaigns across the country, award-winning author Courtney Sheinmel's delightful series will have all listeners thinking kind!

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781543690224
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Series:	Kindness Club Series , #2
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 6.75(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Courtney Sheinmel is a recovering attorney, chocolate lover, mac and cheese expert, and the author of over a dozen highly celebrated novels for kids and young adults, including Edgewater, Sincerely, and the Stella Batts series. She mentors teen writers at Writopia Lab, a nonprofit in New York City, and she received a National Scholastic Outstanding Educator Award. Courtney wants to hear your kindness stories! Write to her at thekindnessclubbook@gmail.com.

www.courtneysheinmel.com

@courtneywrites

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Editorial Reviews

"Sheinmel’s ability to embody the tween perspective shines . . . the positivity of the narrative is a great selling point and many libraries will appreciate having this series available for tweens dealing with bullying, feelings of isolation, and friendship feuds." - School Library Journal
"Imagine what a better world we’d live in if Kindness Clubs spring up at every school. This series is inspiring!" - Wendy Mass, New York Times bestselling author of THE CANDYMAKERS
"Sheinmel’s characters are absolutely charming. Middle grade readers will want to join their club—as a matter of fact, I do too!" - Sarah Mlynowski, New York Times bestselling author of the Whatever After series on THE KINDNESS CLUB
"A great big hug of a book that proves friendships are built one small act of kindness at a time." - Michael Buckley, New York Times bestselling author of The Sisters Grimm and NERDS series on THE KINDNESS CLUB
"A warm and charming first installment. . . . Readers will be rewarded with a satisfying read and, hopefully, a little inspiration to be considerate in their own lives. . . . Recommended." - School Library Journal on THE KINDNESS CLUB

From the Publisher

Lucy Tanaka and her fifth-grade classmates Chloe and Theo are all members of the Kindness Club. The trio created the club after doing a school science experiment to investigate how kindness affects people. The club provides Lucy with fun projects and, more importantly, best friends. The second book of “The Kindness Club” contemporary fiction series focuses on Lucy, but it’s not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy the story. In this installment, Lucy suggests new projects for the club, including planning a surprise birthday party for Serena, a classmate whose mother has just died. The story does not explore the characters’ thoughts and feelings in depth, but Sheinmel’s account rings true. Chloe and Lucy struggle with what it would mean to be accepted by the popular kids and how it feels to be left out. Lucy is still processing her own mother’s death, although she does not realize it. She experiences a rough patch with her dad and grandmother, but does not understand why. Her thoughts, feelings, and situations come to a head when Lucy finds out that her father has had to sell his business and that Serena does not want a party. She comes to realize that she may have been acting on her own feelings about birthdays and mothers instead of Serena’s. In the end, Lucy and The Kindness Club make a quilt for Serena. It is a gift chosen so they can show that they care while respecting her wishes about the party. The conclusion of the story is satisfying without feeling pat. Lucy gains some insights into herself, her family, her friends, and her Kindness Club projects. Sheinmel successfully captures how it feels to navigate friends, family, school, and emotions as a fifth grader. The book has just the right balance of humor and real-world situations to entertain but also show readers she understands and respects them. Reviewer: Eileen Hanning; Ages 8 to 12.

Children's Literature - Eileen Hanning

08/01/2017
Gr 3–5—The Kindness Club is back with a second installment. With the club's origins established—Chloe, Theo, and Lucy developed the club as a class experiment and it stuck—the sequel is free to explore the more complex emotions surrounding loss, friendship, and the social dynamics of fifth grade. Sheinmel's ability to embody the tween perspective shines in the recklessly energetic Lucy as she attempts to create the perfect birthday experience for a classmate who has just lost her mother. Similar to the first book, this is a fast-paced, light read with lots of lessons peppered throughout, though Sheinmel keeps the narrative from tipping to patronizing. Ultimately, Lucy and her friends live up to their mission and are able to help their classmate in a way that is sensitive, appropriate, and, of course, kind. This is an excellent entry to the series, even if readers haven't read the first installment. Though the resolution is improbably rosy, the positivity of the narrative is a great selling point and many libraries will appreciate having this series available for tweens dealing with bullying, feelings of isolation, and friendship feuds. VERDICT An optimistic choice; recommended as a general purchase for medium to large collections.—Taylor Worley, Springfield Public Library, OR

School Library Journal

2017-08-27
Fifth-grader Lucy Tanaka's attempt to surprise a classmate with a kind gesture goes wrong.Following Chloe on the Bright Side (2016), this second episode in Sheinmel's Kindness Club series stars designer-to-be Lucy Tanaka, who worries that her bond with friends Chloe Silver and Theo Barnes (both are white) will weaken if they aren't always engaged in the acts of kindness their club stands for. Her latest idea is a surprise birthday party for classmate Serena Kappas at the Tanaka family's bowling alley. Serena's mother has just died. Mixed-race Lucy knows something about being motherless; her Afro-Japanese-American mother died when she was only 1, but it still makes her sad sometimes. But she's sure a bowling party will make Serena's day memorable. When it turns out that Lucy's Japanese-American father, distracted by his failing business, hadn't agreed and wasn't in a position to supply a party, and worse, that Serena didn't want it, Lucy feels horrible. Instead of making people happy, she made people sad. The author allows the complications to build slowly as she develops her title character and demonstrates the ins and outs of fifth-grade friendship. Lucy's first-person narration reveals her wonderful creativity, her emotional fragility, and her generous but impulsive nature, which doesn't always stop for second thoughts. Readers caught up in her worldview will applaud the resolution. A leisurely character study with a useful lesson. (Fiction. 8-11)

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