Ying C Compestine | Author

Ying C Compestine
Writer of novels, ghost stories, illustrated children's books, cookbooks and magaz

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Class: Ying Compestine - How to Write & Sell Children's Books

Nov.02.2012

Class: Ying Compestine - How to Write & Sell Children's Books

Explore the creative and exciting world of children’s books in this insightful seminar. Learn how to generate story ideas, develop plot and characters, and find an illustrator. Sharpen your writing talents, and develop a story. Investigate ways to approach editors and agents. Discuss the nature of the publishing industry, how to research the market, and methods for presenting your work professionally. Discover the secrets of making the final sale, and get the best financial reward for your writing.

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PUBLISHED: Sep.21.2011

Ying's Best One-Dish Meals

A collection of quick, healthful, and delicious one-dish meals that include protein, high fiber carbohydrates, fresh vegetables, and more. Prepared using fast cooking techniques and nutritious ingredients, these recipes allow readers to pull together satisfying meals in a snap. Bonus materials include: meal-planning tips; ingredient short-cuts; grains and pasta cooking and...

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PUBLISHED: Dec.13.2011

Crouching Tiger

Vinson is very excited when his grandfather comes from China for a visit. When Grandpa practices tai chi in the garden, Vinson asks to learn, hoping it will be like kung fu, full of kicks and punches. But tai chi’s meditative postures are slow and still, and Vinson quickly gets bored. He can’t understand why Grandpa insists on calling him by his Chinese name, Ming Da, or why he...

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PUBLISHED: Oct.27.2009

A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A Collection of Deliciously Frightening Tales

According to Chinese tradition, those who die hungry or unjustly come back to haunt the living. Some are appeased with food. But not all ghosts are successfully mollified. In this chilling collection of stories, Ying Chang Compestine takes readers on a journey through time and across different parts of China. From the building of the Great Wall in 200 BCE to the modern day of iPods...

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PUBLISHED: Aug.21.2007

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. *Picture book and cookbook author Compestine (The Real Story of Stone Soup) turns to 1972 China as the setting for her first YA novel. Eight-year-old Ling, the spunky daughter of two doctors, lives in Wuhan, China; dreamy and idealistic, she often describes her world in metaphor (about her neighbor, Ling notes, Mrs. Wong was fragrant and...

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PUBLISHED: Jan.18.2007

The Real Story of Stone Soup

A stingy fisherman always makes his three young helpers do all his work. One day he scolds the “lazy boys” for forgetting to provide lunch. “Don’t worry,” they say. “We can make stone soup.” The boys dig a hole and fill it with water and “flavored” stones. They trick the fisherman into making bowls and chopsticks, and fetching salt and sesame oil. While he’s busy, they stir in bird...

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PUBLISHED: Oct.15.2006

D is for Dragon Dance

In this alphabetical celebration of the Chinese New Year, a boy and a girl prepare for the festivities with their family. Each page or full spread, representing one letter, includes such headings as A is for Acrobats, I is for Incense, and P is for Peking Duck. One- to two-sentence subtitles under some of these headings explain the traditions. The Z is for Zodiac page includes a...

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PUBLISHED: Jan.01.2001

The Runaway Ricecake

It's the Chinese New Year, and the Chang Family has only enough rice flour to make one nián-gão, a special New Year's rice cake, for the entire family to eat. But this delicious little nián-gão has other ideas. "Ai yo! I don't think so!" it cries, coming to life and escaping. Ming, Cong, little Da and their parents chase the nián-gão all over the village until it runs...

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PUBLISHED: Aug.24.2000

Cooking With Green Tea

Capture the healthy benefits of green tea with this collection of tasty recipes. Green tea has long been admired for its calming effects. Now this delicious substance is being recognized for its fundamental nutritional uses. Polyphenol, one of the most effective antioxidants known, is an essential component of green tea. This compound possesses powers that make it an important...

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PUBLISHED:

The Story of Noodles

The Kang family hopes to win the emperor's annual cooking contest with Mama's special dumplings, but when a pig turns up missing, the three boys are left in charge of rolling out the dough while their parents hunt for the stray. The brothers jump on the grinder to flatten the dough and-"BOOM!"-the table breaks. When Mama returns, she is horrified to discover strips of...

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The Story of Chopsticks

A Chinese-American cookbook author invents an explanation for the origin of chopsticks. Long ago, Compestine tells readers, when "all Chinese people ate with their hands," Keai (Quick), the youngest of three boys, was never fast enough to grab some nourishment before his brothers. In desperation born of hunger, he pulled two sticks from the kindling pile and used them to...

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PUBLISHED:

The Story of Kites

The creative Kang brothers are back, once again inventing a practical solution to a common problem-in this case, keeping birds out of the rice fields. Shooing them away is time-consuming so the boys decide to make some wings of their own. Of course, when they try using them, they come crashing down. After some experimentation with paper and chopsticks, the youngsters come up with...

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PUBLISHED:

The Story of Paper

The irrepressible Kang boys are now credited with the invention of paper. The three brothers struggle to concentrate on their math as they write their answers on the ground with sticks, an early Chinese method of doing schoolwork, but playing with bugs distracts them. Annoyed, their teacher prints a note to their parents on each of their hands and admonishes them to hold their arms...

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Ying's Latest Blogs

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Nov.14.2009 - 10:31 am

A Bird Out of the Cage

As a child, the only trip my parents took me on was to Southern China, to visit my dying grandmother. My parents spent months applying for various travel documents, retrieving...

Nov.10.2009 - 11:52 am

True Friendship

In my debut novel, Revolution is not a Dinner Party; there is a scene where Ling, the main character, watches her father burn the family's books and photos. This actually occurred...

Nov.05.2009 - 10:30 am

Ghosts of the Great Wall

For three years I worked as the food editor for Martha Stewart's magazine, Body+Soul. I began with my own food column, "Yin/Yang Diner" in which I developed recipes...

Nov.03.2009 - 10:28 am

On Becoming a Hungry Ghost

In Chinese folklore, hungry ghosts devour everything they can find and are never satisfied. We may scoff at their appalling lack of self control. Yet if we look around, how many...

Comments from Ying

Nov.05.2009 - 8:55 pm

In response to: On Becoming a Hungry Ghost

Thank you!

The recipes are easy to make, and great for holiday gatherings. I hope you will have a chance to try them! Thank you...

Writing

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Article: A Test of Character

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Nov.09.2011

Crouching Tiger

Published by The New York Times

Poignant but not treacly, “Crouching Tiger” deals with an immigrant child’s conflicting emotions toward a grandparent from the old country. Vinson — Ming Da to his grandfather...

Audio & Video

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Video: Ying Chang Compestine on Home Matters: Cooking with Grean Tea

Video: Ying Chang Compestine on Home Matters: Rice Cakes

About Ying

Award winning author and dynamic public speaker, Ying is the author of many children's books, cookbooks and a novel. Ying has been featured on many national television programs and she has been profiled in national magazines and newspapers. Ying has visited...

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Causes Ying Compestine Supports

The Cancer Research Foundation

Environmental causes -- I'm very concerned about the effects of global warming and the impact of the environment on...

Ying C CompestineWriter of novels, ghost stories, illustrated children's books, cookbooks and magaz

Latest News & Events

Class: Ying Compestine - How to Write & Sell Children's Books

Featured Works

Ying's Latest Blogs

Comments from Ying

Writing

Published Reviews

Audio & Video

About Ying

Causes Ying Compestine Supports

Ying C Compestine
Writer of novels, ghost stories, illustrated children's books, cookbooks and magaz