Some agents only want to represent author-illustrators. As a writer who is not an illustrator, I resent this. However, when I read books like Broken, by X. Fang, I understand it. The words and images are so completely integrated in this 2025 picture book that the result is impressive.
The story here is simple: Mei Mei is at Ama’s house (her grandmother’s house). Mei Mei gets bored, and tries to scare the cat (Mimi). She succeeds, but in the process she breaks Ama’s cup. Mei Mei is overcome with guilt, and runs through terrible scenarios in which her grandmother is mad at her. However, when Ama comes back into the room, she blames the cat, and Mei Mei lets her. However, this sets off another cycle of increasing guilt, in which Mimi seems to be staring at her so intently that her cat face eventually fills the page.
Mei Mei runs and hides in the safety of the dark closet, cries, and, eventually, confesses. However, her grandmother doesn’t blame her or scream at her, but instead, fixes the cup and consoles her.
Fang’s use of color, space, and shapes make this book visually appealing: people are large or small depending on action or emotion, and the cat’s orange face fills one page the same way the dark of the closet fills another. The story follows a great emotional logic, with Mei Mei’s emotions leading some of the time (Time to scare the cat! Now I’m afraid!), Mimi’s emotions (or projected emotions) other times, and Ama’s love and wisdom bringing everything into a full and gentle circle by the end.
And all the M sounds helped unify things.
Very nice.
