Growing Up Under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution
by Ying Chang Compestine (Author) Xinmei Liu (Illustrator)
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.
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Kirkus
A vivid glimpse into a childhood under communist rule.
ALA/Booklist
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.
Publishers Weekly
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)
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
"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
JNF025030 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Asia
JNF038020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | Asia
