| Ying Chang Compestine | |||||||
| Birth Name: | 張瀛 | ||||||
| Birth Date: | 8 March 1963 | ||||||
| Birth Place: | Wuhan, Hubei, China | ||||||
| Occupation: | Author | ||||||
| Language: | English | ||||||
| Genre: | Fiction, children's books, cookbooks, historical fiction, cultural studies | ||||||
| Notableworks: | Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party (2007) | ||||||
| Spouse: | Greg M. Compestine | ||||||
| Children: | 1 | ||||||
| Module: |
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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.
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.
Compestine earned a degree in English and American literature and taught English in China. She also worked as an interpreter for China's Bureau of Seismology.
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.
After immigrating to the United States, Compestine taught sociology and writing at universities in both the U.S. and China.[8] 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).
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. She also worked a food editor for Martha Stewart’s Body + Soul magazine 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]
Compestine began writing after her son was born, creating the cookbook, Secrets of Fat-Free Chinese Cooking (1997). She began writing children's books after her parents died, because she missed China and her family. 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. 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]
Her other recent picture book, Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu (2024) illustrated by Crystal Kung, has received praise from Kirkus Reviews[28] , Publisher's Weekly[29] , and the School Library Journal.[30] It has also been featured on California’s notable stations, KQED[31] and ABC7@7, and chosen as a Common Sense Selection by Common Sense Media.[32]
Her most recent middle-grade novel, Morning Sun in Wuhan (2022) has received praise from The San Francisco Chronicle[33] and The Mercury News.[34] It was selected as A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year,[35] an NCSS 2023 Notable Social Studies Trade Book,[36] and was chosen as a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild.[37]
Her young adult novel, A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts, is currently being adapted into an animated TV series by 108 Media.[38]
She has two upcoming books: The Chinese New Year Helper, story of a young girl helping to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and an untitled Chinese comic cookbook.
| Book | Award | |
|---|---|---|
| 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[39] | |
| Notable Book for 2010 by the Children's Literary Assembly AARP as a Grandparent's Book for Children | ||
| Secrets of The Terra Cotta Soldier | Top 3 Books by The Morning CallBest 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 Wuhan | 2022 Selected as one of the best books of 2022 by the New York Public Library2022 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 2023 Notable Social Studies Book by the NSST/CBC | |
| Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu | 2024 Recipient of the Common Sense Selection for Books designation[40] 2024 Winner of the MOSS Kids National Championship | |
| Growing Up Under a Red Flag | 2024 Chosen as a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild 2024 Recipient of the Common Sense Selection for Books designation [41] 2024 Starred review from the School Library Journal 2024 Starred review from Publisher's Weekly 2024 Starred review from Booklist |