Angela Johnson books

Angela Johnson is an American author of children's and young adult books, known for the Heaven trilogy and award-winning picture books.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers 1997 Buy
Love and Sex 2001 Buy
One Hot Second: Stories About Desire 2002 Buy
Tripping Over the Lunch Lady 2004 Buy
Half-Minute Horrors 2009 Buy
Monsters, Movies & Mayhem 2020 Buy

Children’s Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Tell Me A Story Mama 1989 Buy
Do Like Kyla 1990 Buy
When I Am Old With You 1990 Buy
One Of Three 1991 Buy
The Leaving Morning 1992 Buy
The Girl Who Wore Snakes 1993 Buy
Joshua By The Sea 1994 Buy
Mama Bird, Baby Birds 1994 Buy
Joshua’s Night Whispers 1994 Buy
Rain Feet 1994 Buy
Shoes Like Miss Alice’s 1995 Buy
The Aunt in Our House 1996 Buy
The Rolling Store 1997 Buy
Daddy Calls Me Man 1997 Buy
The Wedding 1999 Buy
Down on the Winding Road 2000 Buy
Those Building Men 2001 Buy
I Dream of Trains 2003 Buy
Just Like Josh Gibson 2004 Buy
Violet’s Music 2004 Buy
A Sweet Smell of Roses 2005 Buy
Wind Flyers 2007 Buy
Lily Brown’s Paintings 2009 Buy
The Day Ray Got Away 2010 Buy

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Other Side: Shorter Poems 1998 Buy
Gone from Home 1998 Buy
Running Back To Ludie 2001 Buy

Great Works Classroom Resource 4th-8th Grade Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry 2014 Buy
Tuck Everlasting 2014 Buy
Bud, Not Buddy 2014 Buy
Holes 2014 Buy
The Giver 2014 Buy
My Brother Sam Is Dead 2014 Buy
Island of the Blue Dolphins 2014 Buy
Hatchet 2014 Buy
Bridge to Terabithia 2014 Buy
The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 2014 Buy
The Dark Is Rising 2014 Buy
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 2014 Buy
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 2015 Buy
Maniac Magee 2015 Buy
Dragonwings 2015 Buy
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas 2015 Buy
The Hunger Games 2016 Buy
The Crossover 2016 Buy
Esperanza Rising 2016 Buy
The Westing Game 2018 Buy

Heaven Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Heaven 1998 Buy
To Heaven and Back 1995 N/A
The First Part Last 2003 Buy
Sweet, Hereafter 2009 Buy

Lottie Paris Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Lottie Paris Lives Here 2011 Buy
Lottie Paris and the Best Place 2013 Buy

Magnolia Street Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Maniac Monkeys on Magnolia Street 1998 Buy
When Mules Flew on Magnolia Street 2000 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Baking with Mrs Bun the Baker 2018 Buy

Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Toning the Sweep 1993 Buy
Songs of Faith 1998 Buy
Looking for Red 2002 Buy
A Cool Moonlight 2003 Buy
Bird 2004 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Humming Whispers 1995 Buy
A Certain October 2012 Buy

Angela Johnson is an American author who has written picture books, middle grade novels, young adult fiction, and poetry. Her best-known work is the Heaven trilogy, which includes Heaven (1998), The First Part Last (2003), and Sweet, Hereafter (2009). She has won three Coretta Scott King Awards and received a MacArthur Fellowship.

Johnson’s picture books for younger readers include Tell Me A Story Mama, When I Am Old With You, and many others. Her writing often focuses on African American families and communities, with a quiet, lyrical style that has earned her a loyal readership across age groups.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Angela Johnson written?

Angela Johnson has written 69 books across ten series.

What was Angela Johnson's first book?

Angela Johnson’s first book is Tell Me A Story Mama, published in 1989.

What awards has Angela Johnson won?

Angela Johnson won the Coretta Scott King Award three times: for Toning the Sweep (1994), Heaven (1999), and The First Part Last (2004). She also received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2003.

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