How to Solve a Problem

February 1, 2020

K-Gr 3-A teen rock-climbing star describes how she approaches a climb, mapping it out one step at a time. Olympic-hopeful Ashima Shiraishi addresses readers directly, explaining that climbers call the rocks they face "problems." Her first-person narration is relatively simple, often featuring a single line on a page. Shiraishi describes facing one difficult climb, breaking it down into familiar steps and using similes to identify each distinctive part. She climbs, falls, and climbs again "with the new information / the fall had given me." This New York-born, Japanese American phenom is given a heroic treatment in digital illustrations by illustrator Xiao. The cover showcases Shiraishi hanging by her fingertips, almost flying, against a backdrop of sky and mountain. Early spreads showcase her climbs in Central Park before attempting the challenge at the heart of her story. After tracing her path up the rock, Xiao depicts Shiraishi reaching for a path through the stars. A final spread repeats the night sky motif with a more detailed history of her accomplishments through age 15. Publisher Christopher Myers introduces this teen author and athlete as someone who is "one of the best in the world at what she does" but with a secret superpower: "the ability to try again after failing." VERDICT A well-told story that could be an inspiration to young readers.-Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2020
A philosophy for life, built word by word, hold by hold, climb by climb. Japanese American teen rock-climbing champion Shiraishi narrates the story of how she navigated one of her biggest climbs with patience, perseverance, and creativity. Problems, whether on rock or in life, can look "tremendously endless" to anyone, even Ashima, depicted here as a 13-year-old. But when she compares individual holds to the shape of her mother's bolts of fabric or of her father's elbow in a dance, she connects with the route, finding her way up the rock. However, her ascent isn't perfect, and her first fall is depicted, boldly, on a vertical double-page spread. She "listens" to the climb, regroups with her father's help, and approaches the rock with renewed mental and physical strength. Her summit, illustrated in a strong, striking pose--arms spread wide, fingers gripping the rock--portrays the perseverance, reflection, and tenacity Ashima demonstrates in every climb. Backmatter both narrates and visually depicts the author's rise through the annals of climbing, including her completion of a formidable boulder problem, the first woman to do so. Vivid, clean-lined illustrations by debut artist Xiao immerse readers in sweeping, earth-toned vistas of rock and sky that form Ashima's world. Lively endpapers show Ashima in various body positions common to the sport of rock climbing. Both a riveting narrative and an excellent guide for young readers to try, try again. (Informational picture book. 5-8)

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Starred review from March 2, 2020
Teen author and climber Shiraishi doesn’t just scale rocks—she solves problems, “which is to say, I make them mine.” In crisp, vibrant spreads, Xiao, making her picture book debut, shows Shiraishi confronting a massive rock face. “Once I had a problem and it stretched into the sky,” she writes. The next spread shows the boulder covered with images, visual mnemonics to help her along the way. “One part was arched like a question mark, another part stuck out like my father’s elbow... and another was shaped like the bolts of fabric stacked in my mother’s sewing room.” Now Shiraishi starts climbing, using no ropes. Vignettes show her at each hold, twisting, pushing, grasping. Then she falls, hard. She takes a break, taking in “the new information the fall had given me. Each fall is a message, a hint, an idea.” She climbs and falls again until, eventually, she scales the wall. When problem-solving is a necessary part of any process—one that informs and aids in resilience—the specter of failure disappears. Xiao’s cleanly outlined forms and intensely saturated hues show Ashima honing analytical skills whose power reaches beyond the climbing wall to the rest of life. Ages 4–8.

February 15, 2020
Grades 1-3 Free solo climbers refer to boulders as problems, and in this book, rock climbing serves as a metaphor for solving any problem that confronts you. Fifteen-year-old Shiraishi, regarded as one of the world's most skilled climbers, is the author, narrator, and main character here. Her experience makes her statement?that solving boulders is similar to solving real-life problems?both arresting and credible. She sticks to the metaphor throughout, focusing on how, at 13, she solved a boulder problem that was the largest and most challenging she ever encountered. Xiao's digital illustrations are full of movement and bold color, juxtaposing small Shiraishi with a boulder whose contours stretch off the page. One spread, oriented sideways, in which Shiraishi loses her grip and falls, is spine-tingling in itself. While the focus on cognitive mapping may be beyond younger children, the author's beliefs in learning from each fall and that learning from failure is a superpower are sure to empower any person facing a problem. Engrossing and inspiring.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)