What Do You Do With a Problem?

One Word - WHOAH!

Author Kobi Yamada and Illustrator Mae Besom put together a powerful book that talks about dealing with our problems. The story is told in 1st person - a little kid who one day realizes that he has a problem. He had no idea where the problem came from or why it was there, but it was a dark cloud that he just could not deal with. As the story progress, the character begins to fear and neglect his problem. The more he fears the problem, the bigger the problem gets. The illustrator did a really cool job by drawing this huge ominous cloud over the character - in the beginning, the cloud was small and faint, but it grows larger and darker until he decides he has had enough of running from his problems! So one day he goes to show more face his problems and discovers something beautiful, hidden within those dark clouds, and he embraces it! (I just about cried). Now the skies have turned bright and he is sailing in a literal sea of opportunity!

I don't want to limit this book to just children, because as an adult this book resonated with me in a form of a reminder. A reminder to be brave, to embrace my fears in order to move forward. I imagine for children this book would give an insight on how to deal with their problems both big and small, while also giving them something to relate too. I think the overall theme of this book is that if we continue to neglect or fear our problems, they will only grow bigger. But if we face our problems, we allow ourselves to grow and have more opportunities. show less

Author Kobi Yamada and illustrator Mae Besom, whose previous picture-book collaboration, What Do You Do With an Idea? was a surprise best-seller, return with this second inspirational tale. A young boy, troubled by a problem that he cannot seem to get rid of, finds that his avoidance of dealing with it only causes it to grow larger and more threatening. Finally, upon deciding that he simply must do something about it, he discovers that his problem has a hidden blessing: it provides an opportunity.

As with its predecessor, I really liked the way that text and illustration worked together in What Do You Do With a Problem?, appreciating both the changes in color scheme - as the boy moves from avoidance to accepting and dealing with his show more problem, the palette changes from a fairly dreary black, white and gray, to a more vibrant and colorful range of hues - and the way that the problem itself is depicted as a black cloud following the boy. Although by no means an original idea, the use of the cloud, and the way that it grows as the boy ignores it, was well done, communicating visually the message that the text is also working to impart. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed Yamada and Besom's previous foray into picture-books, or who is looking for stories about problem-solving for young children. show less

Charming and successful for the right audience. Some cynics may think it too didactic, or simplistic, or even metaphysical/ metaphorical. But I think it has the right balance of adventure, humor, and empathy, with a satisfying ending. I know children need to learn this lesson, and I know that I need to pay more attention to it myself.

(And no, the answer is not 'solve it.' It's richer than that, and applies even to problems that aren't straightforwardly solvable.)

The main character in this book has a problem that follows him around, making him feel like it will swallow him whole. At first he tries to hide from it before he realizes that inside the problem is something great -- an opportunity.

This lovely book doesn't offer any concrete problem or solution, instead allowing children to identify generally with the idea of something worrisome plaguing them before offering up hope by noting that problems often provide us with a chance to learn or grow. Some of the words used in the book (specifically "opportunity") may be a little over the head of the youngest readers, but I think this book would work well with elementary school-age children and even some older preschoolers. A parent or teacher can show more extend the lesson by asking children about problems they have encountered and how they fixed them.

The illustrations are quite lovely -- it's a fairly muted palette, with much darker colors used when the problem is looming and then brighter (but still subdued) colors emerging when the opportunity arises. The drawings themselves are sort of sketch-like but with a little more detail than that. The effect is quite lovely. show less

Problems are inevitable and we will all experience them, but when ignored they only grow and get worse. This story follows a little boy and all of the problems he is facing. It teaches kids that problems will happen and are meant to be learned form and make us stronger. No matter what you should never give up and there is always a light at the end. I love this story because it is an honest and real outlook on life, but also helps children see that they have the strength to do and conquer all and most importantly that no matter what they are not alone.

What do you do with a problem? Ignore it as much as you like; until you conquer it in one way or another, it will continue to grow. I love the illustrations in this book and it is a great series to share with younger kids. It really gives Ideas to the creative process and grasping how one might be able to handle a situation. The arc of "What would you do with a Chance"'s Story has the best in the series because it has a real dilemma that the narrator has to face.

Achild 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 show more 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)

-Kirkus Review show less