Broken

“Let me tell you the story of the day I broke Ama’s cup” begins the narrator of this compassionate work from Fang (We Are Definitely Human). Young Mei Mei, portrayed with pink skin and dark hair, recalls being bored at Ama’s house and bumping into a side table while seeking to scare Mimi the cat—an act that launches the mug into the air and then “down, down, down, until CRASH!” At first certain of Ama’s anger (an illustration imagines the child literally being booted from the house), Mei Mei seems to be off the hook when Ama blames Mimi for the break. But the cat’s relentless, implacable stare, captured in digitally colored pencil drawings, haunts Mei Mei so much that the child retreats until the truth forces its way out, depicted in a cutaway schematic. Luckily, Ama, who believes that “what’s broken can also be fixed” and that “every repair tells a story,” works restorative magic on both grandchild and cup, soothing Mei Mei’s tears and patching together the object “until it had its own story to tell.” Peace settles over the living room with the understanding that objects and trust alike become more precious for having been lovingly mended. Ages 3–7. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary. (Oct.)