Angela Johnson

Books by This Author

Just Like Josh Gibson

By: Angela Johnson
Illustrated by: Beth Peck
Age Level: 3-6

The year the narrator's grandma was born, Negro League great Josh Gibson hit a baseball so hard it went all the way from Pittsburgh and landed in Philadelphia! No surprise then that Grandmama learns to play baseball just like Josh Gibson. Warm and expressive illustrations depict this nostalgic saga of two heroes — Gibson and Grandmama.

Lily Brown's Paintings

By: Angela Johnson
Illustrated by: E.B Lewis
Age Level: 3-6
Lily Brown loves her family and the world they share, but she also loves to paint and travel the world through her imagination. Luminous paintings depict Lily's creative travels to the stars, the seashore, and more, before returning to her family.

Maniac Monkeys on Magnolia Street

By: Angela Johnson
Age Level: 6-9
Charlie (aka Charlene) doesn’t miss her old home on Monroe Street for long once she meets the kids on Magnolia Street. Each chapter is as lively as the young protagonist in this short novel.

Tell Me a Story, Mama

By: Angela Johnson
Illustrated by: David Soman
Age Level: 3-6

As a child gets ready for bed, she implores, "Tell me a story, Mama," then proceeds to tell it herself. Mama adds only to punctuate the girl’s story with maternal wisdom. This warm story, told in two voices, reflects how children make family stories their own.

The First Part Last

By: Angela Johnson
Bobby is your classic urban teenaged boy – impulsive, eager, restless. On his sixteenth birthday he gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes his life forever. She's pregnant. Bobby's going to be a father. Suddenly things like school and house parties and hanging with friends no longer seem important as they're replaced by visits to Nia's obstetrician and a social worker who says that the only way for Nia and Bobby to lead a normal life is to put their baby up for adoption.

Wind Flyers

By: Angela Johnson
Illustrated by: Loren Long
Age Level: 6-9

A young African American boy tells the story of his great-great-uncle, who realized his dream of flying by becoming a Tuskegee Airman during World War II. Richly hued paintings evoke the period, and spare language allows the story to speak for itself.