- Picture Books
- Ages 4–8
- Everyday Life
Broken
A funny, tender picture book about a child who breaks a beloved cup and spirals into guilt before finding forgiveness. It is excellent for children who worry intensely about mistakes or disappointing adults.
- Best for4–8
- FormatPicture
- Length48 pp
- Read aloud~10 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Funny
- Warm
- Heartwarming
- Gentle
- Thought provoking
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Mei Mei accidentally breaks her ama's favourite cup, and the mistake immediately becomes enormous in her mind. What if Ama is angry? What if she yells? What if this one broken thing means Mei Mei has ruined everything? X. Fang turns a common childhood accident into a dramatic, funny and deeply empathetic emotional journey. The artwork gives Mei Mei's guilt and panic cinematic intensity, while the story's resolution offers the kind of warmth children need: mistakes can be faced, love can hold, and broken things can sometimes be repaired together. The book is especially valuable because it understands how big small accidents can feel to children who are sensitive, anxious or desperate not to let people down. It is funny enough to read for pleasure, but emotionally useful enough to recommend for conversations about honesty, fear and forgiveness.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 4–8
- Read aloud · 4–8
- Independent · 6–9
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: violence.
Bedtime suitability
4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
2 / 5 · Use judgement
Graphic intensity
4 / 5 · Notable
Best for
- Mistakes and forgiveness
- Sensitive children
- Family story
- Beautiful illustrations
- Funny emotional story
Avoid if
- Wants big adventure
- Dislikes family conflict
- Wants no anxiety theme
Particularly good for children who are…
- Anxiety and worry
- Low self esteem
- Single parent family
- Anger management
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A funny, touching read-aloud about a small lie that snowballs — strong for talk about honesty, consequences and forgiveness.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is the broken cup — Mei Mei dropping her ama's favourite cup, the panic spiralling out of proportion, the fear that this one mistake means she's ruined everything, then the resolution where mistakes can be faced and broken things sometimes mended together. The X. Fang for an anxious child terrified of letting people down.
- Family belonging
- Making a difference
- Transformation
Why parents love it
The X. Fang picture book — common childhood accident given cinematic emotional weight, mistake-and-forgiveness handled with real understanding of how big small things feel to sensitive children. Funny enough for pleasure, useful enough for the honesty/forgiveness conversation.
- Conversation starter
- Beautiful illustrations
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
About the author & illustrator
X. Fang.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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