Growing Up under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution

by Ying Chang Compestine, Xinmei Liu (Illustrator)

Overview

A stirring and magnificently illustrated picture-book memoir of the author’s childhood during the Chinese Cultural Revolution

Ying Chang Compestine was a young girl in 1966 when Mao launched his Cultural Revolution to reclaim power and eliminate non-communist values in the country. His army began punishing and arresting people who didn’t agree with him, foreign reading material was banned, and children were all required to dress in uniform and carry the Little Red Book of Mao’s teachings. It was a time of fear, mayhem, and scarcity that lasted until Mao’s death ten years later, when Ying was thirteen. Through those ten harrowing years, Ying’s parents found ways to secretly educate her and allow her dreams of visiting America to stay vibrant. Now she brings her childhood story and China’s history to life in this absorbing and beautiful picture book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593533987
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	379,176
Product dimensions:	11.10(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Ying Chang Compestine grew up in Wuhan, China during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which she has written about in her acclaimed novel Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party and this new picture book memoir. She graduated from Central China Normal University with a degree in English, then earned her Master's in Sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is an award-winning author of 25 books (fiction, picture books, and cookbooks), a leading national authority on Asian culture and cuisine, a former food editor for Martha Stewart's Whole Living magazine, and has taught writing and sociology in both the U.S. and China. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband.

Xinmei Liu was born and grew up in Shanghai, China and is inspired by vintage Chinese art and design. She earned her BFA from the Pratt Institute and her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and now works as an award-winning freelance illustrator and publishing assistant. She has illustrated for the New York Times, New Yorker, NBC News, and Foreign Policy, among others, and her artwork has been exhibited in galleries in New York and Shanghai. She now lives in Indiana with her pet rabbit and cat. This is her first published book.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/18/2024

Compestine’s childhood informs this tense account of 10 years under Mao Zedong’s oppressive rule. Born in Wuhan, China, the book’s narrator is three years old in 1966, when Mao declares a Cultural Revolution to regain power over the government. Her parents were doctors, her father a surgeon trained by an American who left Wuhan when the Communists began to rule China. Though she learns English and reads with her father, who “loved my curiosity and strong spirit,” such activities must be conducted in secret, and the Cultural Revolution soon encompasses electrical outages, food rationing and scarcity, mandated uniforms, and the removal of individuals who don’t conform. Her father is targeted following the receipt of a letter from the U.S., and the Red Guard storms their home, arresting him as an American spy. Debut illustrator Liu gives the ink and digitally colored artwork the feel of vintage Chinese art and design, strengthening an already gripping historical narrative. Ages 6–9. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"The author uses simple, clear language to make complex political ideas more accessible to young audiences. Liu’s artwork helps add depth with nuanced facial expressions, thoughtful details, and eye-catching visual compositions. The vibrant palette and the style of the illustrations are fittingly reminiscent of vintage Chinese propaganda posters. A vivid glimpse into a childhood under communist rule." —Kirkus Review


★ “Illustrating events in an appropriately Socialist Realist style, Liu depicts human figures standing and gesturing in broad, dramatic poses, with exaggerated expressions of fear or fervor to reflect the tenor of the moment, against backgrounds marked with revolutionary posters and otherexactly drawn details. An intense and account of life in an authoritarian regime, relevant to our times." —Booklist Online, starred review

★ “Debut illustrator Ximmei Liu gives the ink and digitally colored artwork the feel of vintage Chinese art and design, strengthening an already gripping historical narrative." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “Ying vividly describes the impacts of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution on Chinese citizens. Written from a young child’s perspective, this book will have readers feeling Ying’s fear and anger at the loss of her English lessons—and her father. Detailed color, pen-and-ink drawings capture the emotions of the Chinese people under the repression of the revolution. A mix of double-page illustrations and single pages with cartoon panels reinforce the story, presenting small details that reappearlater in other drawings. A fascinating memoir of living during a tumultuous time and its impact on China, this is matched with rich illustrations and will engage readers in this part of Chinese history." —School Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher

★ 07/12/2024

Gr 3–6—Ying vividly describes the impacts of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution on Chinese citizens. Her parents worked in healthcare and regularly corresponded with friends in San Francisco. Ying's father taught her English in the evening and read her fairy tales. When the Cultural Revolution started, Ying was told to hide her English skills. Food and goods became scarce and were rationed. Her family was forced to board with Comrade Li, a member of the Red Guard, who eventually accused her father of being an American spy. She watched as her father was dragged off to prison. Ying kept her hopes up with a hidden picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. As the revolution wound down, following the death of Mao, Ying saw Comrade Li sent to prison and her father's return. After college, Ying came to the United States to study and finally saw the Golden Gate Bridge in person. Written from a young child's perspective, this book will have readers feeling Ying's fear and anger at the loss of her English lessons—and her father. Detailed color, pen-and-ink drawings capture the emotions of the Chinese people under the repression of the revolution. A mix of double-page illustrations and single pages with cartoon panels reinforce the story, presenting small details that reappear later in other drawings. An author's note provides more details on Ying's life and photos of her and her parents. VERDICT A fascinating memoir of living during a tumultuous time and its impact on China, this is matched with rich illustrations and will engage readers in this part of Chinese history. Strong first buy.—Tamara Saarinen

School Library Journal

2024-02-03
Author Compestine recalls her experiences growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

It’s 1966, and the author is just 3 years old. Young Ying’s parents are doctors and among the educated dissenters targeted by Mao Zedong. Her father teachers her English, and Ying dreams about going to America to eat food with funny names such as Twinkies and Tater Tots. But by the time she’s 5, people are banned from speaking foreign languages and reading books in English, letters are monitored, and Western items are destroyed. The city walls are oppressively adorned with propaganda, and everyone is forced to don Mao uniforms and conform to a new way of life. Accused of being an American spy, Ying’s father is arrested, and she grapples with censorship, scarcity, and a loss of independence over the course of the next decade until Mao’s death in 1976. The author uses simple, clear language to make complex political ideas more accessible to young audiences. While the emotional resonance of some scenes feels muted due to the sheer amount of history that the tale covers, Liu’s artwork helps add depth with nuanced facial expressions, thoughtful details, and eye-catching visual compositions. The limited yet vibrant palette and the style of the illustrations are fittingly reminiscent of vintage Chinese propaganda posters.

A vivid glimpse into a childhood under communist rule. (author’s note, photographs) (Picture-book memoir. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews