Ying Chang Compestine

Last updated
Ying Chang Compestine
Author Ying Chang Compestine.jpg
Compestine in 2014
Born張瀛
(1963-03-08) March 8, 1963 (age 61)
Wuhan, Hubei, China
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish
Alma mater
Genre Fiction, children's books, cookbooks, historical fiction, cultural studies
Notable works Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party (2007)
SpouseGreg M. Compestine
Children1
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Zhāng Yíng
Wade–Giles Chang1 Ying2
Website
www.yingc.com

Ying Chang Compestine (born March 8, 1963 [1] ) is a Chinese American author, speaker, television host and chef. She has written over twenty-seven books including Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party (novel) , based on her life growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, [2] and a middle grade novel, Morning Sun in Wuhan, [3] set in Wuhan, China.

Contents

Biography

Ying Chang Compestine was born and raised in Wuhan, China. [1] Her family was considered "bourgeois," so the Red Guard took her family's belongings and her father was put in jail twice. [4] Because of the family's difficulties, Compestine was sent to live with her grandparents. [4]

Compestine earned a degree in English and American literature and taught English in China. [1] She also worked as an interpreter for China's Bureau of Seismology. [1]

Compestine graduated with a master's degree in Sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1990. [5] [6] She met her husband just before she finished graduate school. [7] Before becoming an award-winning author, she taught sociology at various universities and colleges in the U.S. and China until 1998.

Career

After immigrating to the United States, Compestine taught sociology and writing at universities in both the U.S. and China. [8] [1] Compestine has received various education awards including the Master Teacher Award from both Front Range Community College (1991-1992) and the International School of Beijing (2000). [1]

Compestine has hosted several cooking shows on Chinese Language News Broadcaster for Phoenix North America Chinese Channel, as well as appearing as a guest on the Food Network, Discovery Channel, [9] and HGTV. [1] She also worked a food editor for Martha Stewart’s Body + Soul magazine [7] and is a contributor for Cooking Light, EatingWell, Self, and Men's Health. [10] [11] [12] Compestine is also a spokesperson for Nestle and Celestial Seasonings . [13]

Writing career

Compestine began writing after her son was born, creating the cookbook, Secrets of Fat-Free Chinese Cooking (1997). [7] She began writing children's books after her parents died, because she missed China and her family. [7] Since then she has written numerous children's books, and is actively writing today.

Her book Revolution is Not a Dinner Party (2007) is based on her life growing up in China. [7] The book has been featured on several lists, such as the 2008 American Library Association's (ALA) Best Books for Young Readers, and Publishers Weekly's best children's books for 2007. [14]

Compestine co-authored Secrets of The Terra Cotta Soldier , with her son Vinson in 2014. [15] [16]

Her most recent picture book, Growing Up Under a Red Flag (2024), illustrated by Xinmei Liu, is a memoir recounting her childhood during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It has received three "starred reviews" from the School Library Journal, [17] Publisher's Weekly , [18] and Booklist [19] as well as high praise from the Wall Street Journal, [20] Kirkus Reviews, [21] Book Riot, [22] the Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California, [23] Mother's Magazine, [24] Bay Area News Group, [25] ArcaMax Publishing, [26] and more. It has also been awarded the Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild. [27] . Recently, Compestine appeared on Kirkus Reviews'FullyBooked Podcast, episode 401 [28] , to speak on her book and writing journey.

Her other recent picture book, Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu (2024) illustrated by Crystal Kung, has received praise from Kirkus Reviews , [29] Publisher's Weekly , [30] and the School Library Journal . [31] It has also been featured on California’s notable stations, KQED [32] and ABC7@7 , and chosen as a Common Sense Selection by Common Sense Media . [33]

Her most recent middle-grade novel, Morning Sun in Wuhan (2022) has received praise from The San Francisco Chronicle [34] and The Mercury News . [35] It was selected as A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, [36] an NCSS 2023 Notable Social Studies Trade Book, [37] and was chosen as a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild. [38]

Her young adult novel, A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts, is currently being adapted into an animated TV series by 108 Media. [39]

She has two upcoming books: The Chinese New Year Helper, a story of a young girl helping to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and an untitled Chinese comic cookbook.

Speaking Career

Compestine has been a sought-after keynote speaker/chef at high-end cruise ships, resorts, and private jets, such as The World, [40] Silver Sea, Crystal, Canyon Ranch, and TCS World Travel.

She presents on a wide variety of topics, from Rising above Adversity, about her life in China during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, healthy living and cooking, to writing/publishing books.

Common speaking themes include: Inspirational Speaking, Healthy Eating and Cooking, and Writing Programs. This includes her Writer-in-Residence Program, where she spends one to two weeks working with students and teachers to inspire growth in reading and writing. [41]

Publications

Awards

BookAward
Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party California Book Award for Young Adult Literature

2008 ALA Best Books For Young Adults

2008 ALA Notable Children's Books

2007 Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction Book List

2007 San Francisco Chronicle Best Children's Fiction Book List

2008 Chinese American Librarian Association Best Book

2007 New York Public Library 100 Best Titles for Reading and Sharing

2007 Fall Book Sense Children's Picks

2007 Parent's Choice Silver Honor

2007 Cybils Award Nomination for Young Adult Fiction

2008 Tayshas Reading List (Texas)

2007 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best

2007 Cleveland Public Library Celebrate With Books

2007 Cuyahoga County Public Library Great Books for Kids

2008 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People — CBC and the National Council for Social Studies

2008 IRA Notable Books for a Global Society

2008 NCTE Award

2008 Capitol Choices — Best Books of the Year, Washington, D.C.

2008 New York Public Library's Teen Age List

2008 Cooperative Children's Book Center — Best of the Year

2008 Bank Street College of Education — Best Children's Book

2008 Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts

2008 Book of the Year Award — Northern California Independent Booksellers Association

2008 Women's National Book Association's Judy Lopez Memorial Awards Honor

2008-09 Maine Student Book Award

2008 Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts

2009 ATPE Book of the Month

2009 Sakura Medal Book

2008-2009 Nominated for the Maine Student Book Award [42]

A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A collection of Deliciously Frightening Tales Notable Book for 2010 by the Children's Literary Assembly

AARP as a Grandparent's Book for Children [42]

Secrets of The Terra Cotta Soldier Top 3 Books by The Morning Call

Best Multi-Cultural Books of 2014 Award

NYPL's 100 Best Children's Books of 2014

Best Fiction on the Bank Street College 2015 List

The Nerdy Book Club's Top 10 Historical Fiction List

Shortlisted for the Hong Kong Golden Dragon Book Award

CALA Best Book Award of 2014 [42]

Crouching Tiger Winner of the Panda Book Award in China

Winner of The Morning Calm Award in South Korea

The Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book of 2011

CCBC Choices for 2012 [42]

The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year Tale Featured title at the Asian Festival of Children's Content in Singapore

2013 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award (WCCPBA)Nominee

2012 Storytelling World Resource Award

2012 California Collections List, for school libraries

Scholastic Book Club Choice

2011 Lasting Connections Top 30 Titles from Booklist [42]

The Chinese Emperor's New Clothes 2018 Parent's Choice Awards

2019 Great Texas Mosquito List

2019 Bank Street College of Education — Best Children's Book

Morning Sun in Wuhan2022 Selected as one of the best books of 2022 by the New York Public Library [36]

2022 Honorable Mention of the Freeman Book Award by NCTAsia

2022 Recipient of the Common Sense Selection for Books designation

2023 Chosen as a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild [38]

2023 Notable Social Studies Book by the NSST/CBC [37]

Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu2024 Recipient of the Common Sense Selection for Books designation [43]

2024 Winner of the MOSS Kids National Championship

2024 BookPage’s Best Picture Books of the Year [44]

2024 Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids [45]

2024 New York Public Library Best Books for Kids [46]

Growing Up Under a Red Flag2024 Chosen as a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild [27]

2024 Recipient of the Common Sense Selection for Books designation [47]

2024 Starred review from the School Library Journal [17]

2024 Starred review from Publisher's Weekly [18]

2024 Starred review from Booklist [19]

2024 CALIBA Golden Poppy Award Finalist [48]

2024 Kirkus Reviews' Best Picture Books of the Year [49]

The Chinese New Year Helper2024 Publishers Weekly's Best Holiday Books For Kids and Teens [50]

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Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party is a work of historical fiction written by Ying Chang Compestine and published in 2007. The story is set at the end of the Cultural Revolution in Wuhan, China. The novel is about a young girl from an upper-class family facing persecution and other challenges brought upon the upper class living in communist China.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier</span>

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The Runaway Wok is a children's picture book written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Sebastia Serra. Published in 2011 by Dutton Children's Books, the story follows a boy named Ming and his adventures with a magical talking wok who grants wishes. The story portrays the rich family as evil and the poor family as heroic.

<i>The Story of</i> (book series) Series of picture books by Ying Chang Compestine

The Story ofseries is a collection of children's picture books that were written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Yongsheng Xuan. Each installation depicts the invention of various objects in Chinese culture, including chopsticks, noodles, kites, and paper. An author's note and recipe is included at the end of each book. The first publication of The Story of Chopsticks was printed in English in 2001 by Holiday House. In 2016, the bilingual edition was printed in English and Chinese by Immedium. The illustrations, done by Xuan use traditional Chinese-style cut paper.

<i>Cooking with an Asian Accent</i> 2014 cookbook by Ying Chang Compestine

Cooking with an Asian Accent is a cookbook written by author Ying Chang Compestine. Unlike traditional cookbooks, Compestine's recipes are inspired by the efficiency of Western culture and the spiritual nourishment of Asian lifestyle. Among the recipes, Compestine includes personal stories of her experience with the blending of Eastern and Western culture.

<i>The Real Story of Stone Soup</i> 2007 picture book by Ying Chang Compestine

The Real Story of Stone Soup is a picture book written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch. The stone soup folk story is often associated with European folklore, but Compestine retells it set in China.

<i>Crouching Tiger</i> (book) 2011 picture book by Ying Chang Compestine

Crouching Tiger is a children's picture book written by award-winning author, Ying Chang Compestine, and illustrated by Yan Nascimbene. Published in 2011 by Candlewick Press, the book tells the story of a young, Chinese-American boy who comes to appreciate his Chinese heritage thanks to his grandfather's tai chi lessons.

<i>D Is for Dragon Dance</i> 2007 picture book by Ying Chang Compestine

D Is For Dragon Dance is a 2007 children's picture book written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Yongsheng Xuan. The book explores the Chinese New Years traditions through a rhyming acrostic format using the English alphabet. The book concludes with an author's note, an artist's note, and a recipe for "New Year's Dumpling Delight".

References

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  2. For a twist on the lunar new year dumpling add green Tea" NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/01/31/268926416/for-a-twist-on-the-lunar-new-year-dumpling-add-green-tea
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  16. "Pictures of the Week: Authors Celebrate at Abrams Books". School Library Journal. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
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  22. Kingsbury, Margaret (3 May 2024). "10 of the Best New Children's Books Out May 2024". Book Riot.
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  24. Hintz-Zambrano, Katie (26 April 2024). "Growing Up Under a Red Flag". Mother.
  25. Ross, Martha (July 15, 2024). "Ying Chang Compestine's newest book brings Mao's Cultural Revolution to devastating life". The Mercury News. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  26. Ross, Martha (July 31, 2024). "Ying Chang Compestine's newest book brings Mao's Cultural Revolution to devastating life". ArcaMax. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
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  32. Tsai, Luke (January 8, 2024). "Stinky Tofu Is the Unlikely Star of a New Children's Book". KQED.
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  39. "Deadline: YA Book 'A Banquet For Hungry Ghosts' Optioned For Anthology Horror Series By 108 Media". Deadline Hollywood . 19 October 2021. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoGGmYRvWrE
  41. https://www.yingc.com/writer-in-residence.html
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  44. https://www.bookpage.com/reviews/ra-pu-zel-and-the-stinky-tofu/
  45. https://www.epl.org/announcing-evanston-public-library-101-great-books-for-kids-list-for-2024/
  46. https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/kids?year=2024
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  48. https://caliballiance.org/page/GP24
  49. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/best-of/2024/picture-books/books/
  50. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/96580-2024-holiday-books-for-kids-and-teens.html