Born Naughty: My Childhood in China

Share in the joyful, adventure-filled shenanigans of a child growing up in a small mud hut in Inner Mongolia in this charming, illustrated memoir for young middle grade readers.

Growing up in Inner Mongolia, Jin Wang was rambunctious and boisterous and did not always listen to her Ma. Jin and her family were poor, but like kids everywhere, she still found a way to have fun and get into lots of mischief climbing trees, digging for mushrooms, and even looking for wolves.

Paired with delightful, kid-friendly illustrations, this early middle grade memoir invites readers to join Jin and her family in the outskirts of Inner Mongolia to remind us that though we all have different customs and traditions, we are more alike than not, and that mischief lives within all of us.

Author: Jin Wang, Tony Johnston
Publisher: Anne Schwartz Books
Published: 05/07/2024
Pages: 112
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.45lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.70w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780593563618
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/12/2024
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2024
Booklist 04/01/2024 pg. 33

About the Author
Jin Wang is from the tiny village of Nan Ba Zi, a province of Inner Mongolia. When she was thirty-five, she moved to the United States--where she taught herself English by watching videos on YouTube. Jin is a yoga instructor in California, and met the co-author of this book, Tony Johnston, when she was a student in her class.

Tony Johnston is the prolific author of over one hundred books, including Winter is Coming, illustrated by Jim LaMarche, which received four starred reviews. Her picture book Spencer and Vincent, The Jellyfish Brothers, received a starred review from Bulletin Center Children's Books and was called "quirky [and] sweet," by Publishers Weekly. Johnston lives in San Marino, California, where she grew up.

Anisi Baigude is the Mongolian American illustrator of Odi's Library Day, written by Hunter Hackett, which was the first children's book to be published by the San Diego Public Library. Anisi was born in Bayannur, in Inner Mongolia, China, and attended grade school in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia. She also lived in Japan, Massachusetts, and California. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in studio art.