Angela Johnson

Angela Johnson was born June 18, 1961, in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was the only girl of three children born to Arthur and Truzetta Johnson. Her father was an autoworker and her mother worked as comptroller at a social service agency when the family settled in the hamlet of Windham, Ohio, where Johnson grew up. Books and reading were major influences in Johnson's childhood. Johnson and her two younger brothers spent much of their time reading. Reading became such a habitual activity that her father eventually banned reading during meals, when one night everyone at the dinner table was reading a book.

As she entered elementary school, she found writing to be fascinating. Johnson's inspiration to write, came from her Maple Grove Elementary teacher Wilma Mitchell. On day in class, she read "Harriet the Spy" to her class. Shortly afterward, Johnson asked her parents for a diary and has continued writing ever since. She wrote a lot of material but didn't wish for anyone to read it.

Upon graduating from high school, Johnson attended Kent State University with the goal of getting a degree in education to become a special education teacher. In the early 1980s, however, Johnson decided that she needed to choose between teaching and writing. Cythia Rylant helped Angela Johnson make her decision. Two years later, Rylant reviewed Johnson's work and sent it on to her publisher. In 1989, Johnson published her first children's book, "Tell Me a Story Mama." Johnson was thrilled by the lucky break she got via her connection to Rylant, but she also felt a responsibility to succeed. Johnson never specifically chose to become a children's writer, but said that was the "voice" in which she naturally wrote. Many of Johnson's books for children feature young black protagonists narrating events that are common to children their age. While she doesn't have any children of her own, Johnson said she's never forgotten the emotions of being a child or young adult, and that helps keep her work original and entertaining.

Though Johnson's earliest works were picture books, she continued to write children's books while moving to young adult novels, where she explored a broader variety of topics. Many times her books revolve around family relationships, those between brothers and sisters or with grandparents and parents. But Johnson's biggest achievement has been using these common relationships to tell uncommon stories. Her characters have dealt with mental illness, teen pregnancy (from a male point of view), and death; they have also talked about familiar situations, like moving to a new town, introspection, and trying to survive high school. In 2003, The First Part Last was published. Angela deals with her common situations in this story, mainly focusing on teeange pregnancy and its effects.

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