Information you should know:

Broken is a book aimed at young children. It is a picture book and has won the Texas 2×2 award in 2026.

Broken is a story about Mei Mei breaking her grandmother’s cup. In the story she is scared and wishes to hide. Later when her grandmother finds out it is about forgiveness and fixing broken things.

Why did I read this?

I choose this book because I found the illustrations to be very pretty. I also have memories of breaking cups or vases when I was little and thought because it was a common experience the book might have something I could use in the future with my own kids or as a librarian.

Review:

The three structures I will be reviewing for Broken are, the illustrations, the impact of reading it physically, and the musicality of the prose.

The Art

As mentioned early I choose to read this book because I found the cover and illustrations inside to be beautiful. I was not disappointed when I read it. Broken makes excellent use of color to aid in the storytelling process. Mei Mei is colored in bright red and yellow bringing vibrancy to the scene. While the background uses mainly washed blues and the white of the page. We see the story through mei mei’s eye in this way with each object of significance being colored more brightly to stand out. For example the cat is a similar shade as Mei Mei which foreshadows the eventually blame she will take for breaking Ama’s cup.

The use of illustrations is shown throughout the book. There is a beautiful page where we follow along with Mei Mei as she plays in the house following her tracks throughout her various games. When Mei Mei believes that Ama is angry at her we see Ama is colored in dark blues and menaces over her. But when Ama forgives her she is brought back to “life” in vibrant colors and warm tones.

Turn 90 degrees

I choose to read this book as a paper copy. I thought that the book did a great job as a physical item. Later in the book there is a page with so much emotion that we as the reader have no choice but to turn the book sideways as Ama looms over Mei Mei after calling her inside. We can see the guilt and fear that Mei Mei feels in the pages of the book. I can see myself turning the book around to show an audience easily and the vibrant colors come across as necessary to the story. Meaning in person would be the best way to experience this book.

Music to my ears

In addition to reading this book in person I read it out loud to get a feel for how I would read it to a classroom. Something I noticed was the rhythm and music many of the lines created. There is repetition throughout the book that lends itself to an almost sing song pattern. This is best exemplified in the lines “What if Ama gets mad at me? What if Ama yells at me? What if Ama kicks me out?” Here we can see how much Mei Mei is concerned and scared of what might happen to her. The repetition both increases the fear we feel with Mei Mei and creates a looming sense of danger similar to how musical direction works in a horror movie. When followed up with the double page spread of Ama looming over her the prose creates a build up with immediate payoff.

Final Review:

This book is short and sweet. I would recommend it to many parents who want to reassure their kids that accidents are okay. I would also love to read this book to children. I would rate it a 8/10.\

Fang, X. (2025). Broken. Tundra Books.