Knowing how to deal with life’s ups and particularly its downs can be a difficult life skill to learn. In Solutions for Cold Feet and Other Little Problems, Canadian author-illustrator Carey Sookocheff shows even the youngest of readers how to handle unexpected setbacks and how to have fun in the process. This picture book, its small size ideal for little hands and gift giving, comprises a series of interconnected vignettes featuring a girl and her occasionally mischievous yet loyal dog.
The first vignette, titled “Solutions for a Missing Shoe,” pairs charming illustrations of the girl trying to find her missing shoe with such simple text as “check in the closet” and “look under the bed.” Light humor comes into play when the girl discovers, while looking under the table, that her dog has chewed her missing shoe. Her final solution is to “wear a mismatched pair”—and a frown. But she can’t stay mad for long, especially when finding solutions for getting caught in the rain. Just when she thinks taking cover inside the library is the best solution, she notices her forlorn, wet pooch still outside.
Deceptively simple illustrations with digitally enhanced, acrylic paintings continue the nonverbal communication and affection between the girl and her pet dog as they work out more solutions involving melting ice cream cones, a boring day, a flyaway hat and cold feet. Together they depict how the best solutions come from teamwork, compromise and empathy. These are important lessons at any age.
