It’s good CEOs are around to offer advice on problem solving. After all, what would the world be like “if Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, or Steve Jobs had thought that they couldn’t change anything”? An adaptation for young readers of Watanabe’s bestselling Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People (2009), this volume will, ostensibly, teach young people how to solve problems and make it to the top. Beginning with attitudes that hamper problem solving—personified by Sophie Sigh, Chris Critic, Darla Dreamer and Gary Go-Getter—the guide proceeds with a full array of colorful charts, cartoons, steps, strategies and pros and cons, with cutesy characters Rita, Rad and Remi, Kiwi and Carlos to lead the way to success. One of the problems to solve may well be how to get through this guide—not as easy as the subtitle suggests. Smith’s cartoonish illustrations and the splashy colors aren’t enough to make young readers want to wade through all of the tips, grids and strategies. (Self-help. 10 & up)
