How to solve a problem The rise (and falls) of a rock-climbing champion

Ashima Shiraishi

Book - 2020

A creative nonfiction work, which describes rock-climber Ashima solving a complex problem in terms of rock climbing, which may include false starts, breaking the challenge into smaller parts, and always being thoughtful and persistent.

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Subjects
Genres
Creative nonfiction
Informational works
Picture books
Published
New York : Make Me a World 2020.
Language
English
Main Author
Ashima Shiraishi (author)
Other Authors
Yao (Illustrator) Xiao (illustrator)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Includes a timeline showing young Ashima Shiraishi's rockclimbing accomplishments.
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 32 cm
Audience
Ages 4-8.
Grades 2-3.
ISBN
9781524773274
9781524773281
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

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.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

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. (Apr.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

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

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

With a voice that's distinctive, lyrical, and inspiring, teenage rock-climber Shiraishi narrates how she tackled -- and solved -- a climbing problem that "stretched into the sky. It was tremendously endless. It was bigger than thinking." In Xiao's earth-toned, digitally created illustration, an immense rockface looms over Shiraishi. Then, as the young climber comes up with a game plan, the depiction changes. Crisp, close-up vignettes zoom in on Shiraishi as she maneuvers through rocky areas that, to her, resemble a question mark, her father's bent elbow, and her mother's bolts of cloth. Xiao playfully adds visual interest by layering these mnemonic images over the sandstone rockface. Page after page, the strategies that Shiraishi shares -- visually assessing the problem, breaking it down step by step, mapping it out in her head, taking a moment to regroup, incorporating what she learns from mistakes, and trying again and again -- all apply to problem-solving in general. Equally applicable are the growth mindset, grit, and resilience she demonstrates, as well as the ownership she takes: "I am Ashima. What I do is climb. What I do is solve problems, which is to say, I make them mine." It's a potent message for all readers. A timeline highlighting the teen's achievements thus far cleverly climbs upward across its double-page spread, and eye-catching endpapers show Shiraishi in different rock-climbing -- and problem-solving -- positions. Tanya D. Auger July/August 2020 p.156(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

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) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.