Chloe on the Bright Side (Kindness Club Series #1)

by Courtney Sheinmel

Overview

Chloe Silver has always been good at looking on the bright side. Even though her parents got divorced and she's moved to a new town, she knows that she will make great friends at her new school. So when she is assigned a science project with offbeat Lucy Tanaka and nerdy Theo Barnes, they have fun creating an experiment that tests out the laws of science through different acts of kindness . . . officially forming The Kindness Club.

But when she is also asked join the cool girls' exclusive It Girls club, Chloe feels completely torn between the It Girls and The Kindness Club. Faced with the possibility of upsetting all her new friends, Chloe's capacity for kindness is put to the test. Sometimes mistakes yield the best discoveries, and there is one hypothesis that can always be proven correct: Kindness is the coolest.

Inspired by kindness projects and anti-bullying campaigns across the country, the first book of this delightful series will have all readers thinking kind!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681190921
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Series:	Kindness Club Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	860 KB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Courtney Sheinmel is the author of the forthcoming Agnes & Clarabelle early chapter book series and YA novel, Edgewater as well as the YA novels My So-Called Family, Positively, and the Stella Batts series for young readers. Her books have received numerous awards, including the Sequoyah Award (Positively), a National Parenting Publication Awards honorable mention (the Stella Batts series), and have appeared on recommended lists, including the New York Public Library's Stuff for the Teenage, and the ABC Best Books for Children. In addition to writing, Courtney served as a judge on the national level for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and she received a National Scholastic Outstanding Educator Award for her work as a writing instructor at Writopia Lab, a non-profit organization serving kids ages 8-18. Courtney lives in New York City.
www.courtneysheinmel.com
@courtneywrites
Courtney Sheinmel has written over a dozen highly celebrated books for kids and teens, including the Stella Batts series for young readers, the YA novel Edgewater, and a middle grade series, The Kindness Club. She lives in New York City.
www.courtneysheinmel.com
@courtneywrites

Editorial Reviews

"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

"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

"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

"Chloe is a modern-day Pollyanna, spreading kindness everywhere she goes." - Booklist

From the Publisher

Fifth grader Chloe Silver has moved to a new town and a new school. She is very optimistic that she will meet new friends and they will be the best ever. During school Book Pickup Day, she meets a couple of new students, Monroe and Rachael, who turn out to be the cool girls in the school. Chloe wants to fit in and hopes she will be able to be friends with these two girls; but then she is paired in a Science project with two other classmates, Lucy, who is a little strange, and geeky Theo, the brains of the class. Chloe tries to get along with both groups of classmates, but the cool girls do not want her to be around the others. Chloe likes both and does not want to choose between the two. Chloe is trying to do everything “right” so she can be part of the cool girls club, the It Girls. However, her other friends start a new club, the Kindness Club, as part of their Science project to test the laws of science through acts of kindness. Chloe’s kindness is put to the test as she tries to fit in both groups. Could the Kindness Club be better than the It Club? Or can she be convinced that she should not be with people who are not as popular as those in the It Club? Readers will be enthralled as they learn about the adventures of Chloe and her friends. Teachers can use this inspiring book to help children deal with kindness and anti-bullying. This book is the first in the “Kindness Club” series. Reviewer: Cathi I. White; Ages 8 to 12.

Children's Literature - Cathi I. White

06/01/2016
Gr 3–6—Sheinmel (Stella Batts) introduces a new series for middle grade readers with a warm and charming first installment. Fifth grader Chloe Silver is probably the most caring person you'll ever meet, but even Chloe finds it difficult to be kind sometimes. Chloe's parents have recently divorced, forcing Chloe away from her best friend and into a new school. Chloe's new circumstances have her torn between two groups of friends—"The It Girls" with sassy Monroe and "The Kindness Club" with her science partners Lucy and Theo—as well as between her two very different families. While this is ultimately a book about altruism and understanding, Sheinmel deftly recalls the difficult days of fifth grade. Chloe has many tough decisions to make and has to live with the positive and negative consequences. The dialogue is candied but avoids becoming altogether cloying. The characters are well-developed and relatable. The true strength of the tale is in Sheinmel's presentation of tween politics and Chloe's inner struggles. Readers will be rewarded with a satisfying read and, hopefully, a little inspiration to be considerate in their own lives. A publisher's note reveals the new series was inspired by various kindness and antibullying projects across the United States. Libraries will benefit from having this title in their arsenal against cliques and bullies. VERDICT Ideal for elementary and middle school shelves, this is a light and easy read for tweens. Recommended as a general purchase.—Taylor Worley, Springfield Public Library, OR

School Library Journal

2016-08-17
Determined to find new best friends in her new school, fifth-grader Chloe Silver makes mistakes, but her essential kindness helps her out.Torn between the overtures of popular, pale-skinned mean-girl Monroe Reeser and the company of oddball science-table mates Lucy Tanaka and Theo Barnes, Chloe struggles to find a balance. She'd love to join a club, and Monroe offers the "It Girls," while Lucy and Theo propose "The Kindness Club," named for their science project to raise serotonin levels by doing acts of kindness. (Their special focus is Lucy's cranky neighbor, Mrs. Gallagher). Chloe also faces changes in her family. Now she sees her father only on Wednesday nights and alternating weekends, and she has to share that time with his new girlfriend and her accomplished daughter. Though naturally a positive thinker, Chloe is having a hard time. Readers may, too, as they watch her get sucked into a series of deceptions and absorb the lessons that seem to propel this well-meant series opener. As depicted on the cover, Lucy is Asian while Chloe and Theo are white. The first-person narrative is awkward in places, with unconvincing dialogue and incidents that don’t propel the story. Both Mrs. Gallagher and Chloe change their ways surprisingly suddenly. On the bright side, maybe things will get better for Chloe and her readers in the next installment. (Fiction. 8-11)

Kirkus Reviews