Description
Temporarily out of stock
Title: What Do You Do with a Problem?
Author: YAMADA KOBI
Illustrator: BESOM MAE (ILL)
Format: HARDCOVER
Publication date: 01/06/2016
Imprint: COMPENDIUM
Price: $40.00
Publishing status: Active
\”What do you do with a problem? Especially one that follows you around and doesn’t seem to be going away? Do you worry about it? Ignore it? Do you run and hide from it? This is the story of a persistent problem and the child who isn’t so sure what to make of it. The longer the problem is avoided, the bigger it seems to get. But when the child finally musters up the courage to face it, the problem turns out to be something quite different than it appeared. This is a story for anyone, at any age, who has ever had a problem that they wished would go away. It’s a story to inspire you to look closely at that problem and to find out why it’s here. Because you might discover something amazing about your problem and yourself. What are problems for? They challenge us, shape us, push us, and help us to discover just how strong and brave and capable we really are. Even though we don’t always want them, problems have a way of bringing unexpected gifts. So, what will you do with your problem?\”-
Kirkus Reviews (04/15/2016):
A child struggles with the worry and anxiety that come with an unexpected problem.In a wonderful balance of text and pictures, the team responsible for What Do You Do With an Idea (2014) returns with another book inspiring children to feel good about themselves. A child frets about a problem that won’t go away: \”I wished it would just disappear. I tried everything I could to hide from it. I even found ways to disguise myself. But it still found me.\” The spare, direct narrative is accompanied by soft gray illustrations in pencil and watercolor. The sepia-toned figure of the child is set apart from the background and surrounded by lots of white space, visually isolating the problem, which is depicted as a purple storm cloud looming overhead. Color is added bit by bit as the storm cloud grows and its color becomes more saturated. With a backpack and umbrella, the child tries to escape the problem while the storm swirls, awash with compass points scattered across the pages. The pages brighten into splashes of yellow as the child decides to tackle the problem head-on and finds that it holds promise for unlooked-for opportunity.A straightforward, effective approach to helping children cope with one of life’s commonplace yet emotionally fraught situations, this belongs on the shelf alongside Molly Bang’s Sophie books. (Picture book. 4-7) COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Publishers Weekly (04/25/2016):
Yamada and Besom follow \”What Do You Do with an Idea?\”with the story of a boy plagued by a problem, which Besom imagines as a violet cloud hanging over the boyas head: aI didnat want it. I didnat ask for it. I really didnat like having a problem, but it was there.a The boy wanders through a medievalesque town, accompanied by sleek, silvery flying fish that dart about like swallows. Soon the cloud grows into a storm: aThe more I avoided my problem, the more I saw it everywhere.a At last the boy has an epiphany: armed with goggles, his hair thrown back by the force of the stormas energy, he reaches into the heart of the cloud and finds light: aI discovered it had something beautiful inside. My problem held an opportunity!a Though some younger readers may find the story overly vaguea itas easy to imagine questions like aWhat is his problem?a and aWhat is he talking about?a popping upa Yamadaas inspirational prose and the romance of Besomas spreads make an impact. Ages 5a 8. \”(July)\” Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.
School Library Journal (06/01/2016):
PreS-Gr 1–In this follow-up to \”What Do You Do with an Idea?\”, a nameless boy has a nameless problem. He ignores it, worries about it, avoids it, and wishes it would go away. When he finally decides to tackle it, he finds that inside the problem is an opportunity to learn and grow, to be brave and to act in a positive manner. He ends by declaring that he is no longer afraid of problems, because \”every problem has an opportunity for something good.\” This flawed and abstract story is full of adult buzzwords. The skillfully drawn but busy illustrations are dark and monochromatic (although they turn golden at the end). Adults with the experience to understand the metaphor may find the story inspiring, but children will be baffled by the didactic and confusing message. The notion that every problem contains a golden opportunity is simplistic and seems to come from a place of privilege. Viewing child abuse or life in a war zone as opportunities for personal growth is unrealistic at best and heartless at worst. Some problems are daunting, especially for the powerless, and to dispatch them so blithely is to belie their severity and their effects on young psyches. VERDICT A well-meaning but misguided look at problem-solving. Stick with any of the many stories in which relatable characters face specific challenges, like Kevin Henkes’s \”Wemberly Worried\”, Mo Willems’s \”Can I Play Too?\”, or even Virginia Lee Burton’s classic \”Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel\”.–\”Heidi Estrin, Congregation B’nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL\” Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
ISBN: 9781943200009
Weight: 476g
Dimension: 269mm X 226mm
Pages: 36