In Broken, the exceedingly talented X. Fang (Dim Sum Palace; We Are Definitely Human) passionately describes a dramatic incident in which Mei Mei breaks Ama's cup. How the cup--and Mei Mei--are subsequently made whole again involves glue, understanding, and cake.
Mei Mei is bored while visiting Ama. So, "naturally," the child decides to scare Ama's cat, Mimi. Mei Mei jumps out and bumps into a table; Ama's patterned yellow mug flies "up, then down, down, down, until CRASH!" Mei Mei doesn't know what to do, so runs "far away," believing Ama will get mad or yell. Instead, Ama asks Mei Mei if she would like tea and cake. The mug is gone but Mei Mei's guilt remains. "Mimi," Ama says while cuddling the cat, "You broke my cup!" But Mei Mei and Mimi know the truth. Finally, the guilt overwhelms Mei Mei, who hides in a dark closet. Ama finds the kid and Mei Mei confesses. But Ama isn't angry. Ama, who is a "fixer," glues the cup back together "piece by piece": "every repair tells a story," and now the cup has one, too. Finally, there is cake.
Fang's strong text, strong feelings, and strong art all acknowledge that mistakes are made, but kindness and compassion rule the day. Direct, first-person narration in the voice of tempestuous Mei Mei holds nothing back, and the digitally colored, graphite pencil-on-paper illustrations include plenty of extreme closeups, child's-eye-views, and even one invitation to turn the book 90 degrees for dramatic effect. Ama's cheerful warmth nicely balances Mei Mei's passion, and readers will surely feel all Mei Mei's feels, then cheer when the child finally gets cake. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author