Growing Up under a Red Flag

“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

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 her picture book memoir, Growing Up Under a Red Flag. 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.

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