Angela Johnson is a children’s author as well as a young adult author and her books discuss everything from moving away from home to dealing with schizophrenia and being a teen parent. She was born in Tuskegee, Alabama on June 18, 1961 (Johnson, Angela, 2010). In 1989 she published her first picture book and in 1991 she won her first award in the form of the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. She was given the Coretta Scott King Honor Book designation for When I Am Old with You and The Other Side: Shorter Poems. She was awarded the Coretta Scott King Author Award for Toning the Sweep, The First Part Last, and Heaven. She was given the MacArthur Foundation grant in 2003 and she was given the Michael J. Printz award for The First Part Last (Gale Literary Database, 2008).
After reading several books by Johnson, though unfortunately I couldn’t get my hands on any of her award winning titles, I believe her to be a very good author. She isn’t afraid to write about difficult topics which I find inspiring since sometimes the things that are difficult to bring up are the things that need to be brought up for some kids. They shed light on situations we may not have experienced, or experienced from a different viewpoint, and in my opinion having your eyes opened is almost never a bad thing. Some of her books could be considered controversial, but as long as they aren’t on any school banned book list I don’t think I would keep them away from my students. I may not outright suggest them to a student or read them aloud to the class without parent permission, but I definitely wouldn’t keep them from my students. The thing that surprised me most about Johnson is that she is lacking a college degree. I guess it just shocked me since these days you need a college education to work pretty much anywhere so the fact that she is a decorated author and never finished her schooling is a little unexpected. I guess it goes to show that if you are devoted enough you really can do anything.
As I stated earlier, overall I believe Johnson to be a very good author and I look forward to reading more by her in the very near future.
Works Cited
Gale Literary Database. (2008, July 31). Angela Johnson .
Johnson, Angela. (2010). Retrieved September 10, 2010, from Encyclopedia of World Biography: http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Johnson-Angela.html
Thanks for including the descriptions of the literary awards. I often pick up a book with an award recognition and have no idea what it means, this was helpful. I liked that she is not afraid to write about difficult topics and agree that often it is the difficult topics that kids can relate to. I think it is the teaching of the books that determines how students will perceive them.
ReplyDelete