Ying Chang Compestine

Ying Chang Compestine (born March 8, 1963 ) 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., and a middle grade novel, Morning Sun in Wuhan, set in Wuhan, China.

Biography
Ying Chang Compestine was born and raised in Wuhan, China. Her family was considered "bourgeois," so the Red Guard took her family's belongings and her father was put in jail twice. 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. She met her husband just before she finished graduate school. 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. 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, 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. Compestine is also a spokesperson for Nestle and Celestial Seasonings.

Writing career
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.

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

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 high praise from the Wall Street Journal. Publisher's Weekly , Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, the Association of Children's Librarians of Northern California, Mother's Magazine, and more. It has also been awarded the Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild.

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

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

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

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.

Publications

 * Buddha Jumps Over a Wall and Other Curiously Named Chinese Dishes. Chronicle Books. Release date: Fall 2025.
 * The Chinese New Year Helper. Rocky Pond Books. Release date: December 2024.
 * Growing Up Under a Red Flag. Rocky Pond Books. 2024. ISBN 978-0593533987.
 * Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu. Rocky Pond Books. 2024. ISBN 978-0593533055.
 * Dragon Noodle Party. Holiday House. 2022. ISBN 978-0823449507.
 * Morning Sun in Wuhan. Clarion Books. 2022. ISBN 978-0358572053.
 * Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon. Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2022 ISBN 978-1419737282.
 * D is for Dragon Dance (Chinese/English bilingual edition). Holiday House. 2018.
 * Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party (German translation). Verlagshaus Jacoby & Stuart. 2018.
 * The Chinese Emperor's New Clothes. Abrams Books For Young Readers. 2018. ISBN 978-1419725425.
 * The Chinese Emperor's New Clothes (Audiobook Sample). Abrams Books For Young Readers. 2018.