Angela Johnson, Johnson, . . Dell/Yearling, $4.99 (112pp) ISBN 978-0-440-41883-2
A sequel to Maniac Monkeys on Magnolia Street, this novel finds Charlie settled into her new neighborhood. She contentedly observes all the goings-on, including the arrival of two teenage girls and their father, a magician. Ages 7-10. (Dec.)
"In these 12 well-honed stories, Johnson zeroes in on the idealism and resiliency that make young people a powerful force in the world," wrote PW. Continue reading »
"I think it's like walking barefoot in a room full of broken glass, when someone you love goes away," notes the bereaved young narrator of Johnson's Continue reading »
In this companion novel, Johnson's fans learn just how Bobby, the single father for whom Marley baby-sits in Heaven, landed in that small town in Ohio. Continue reading »
Johnson (I Dream of Trains
, reviewed above) raises intriguing themes of the supernatural, the lure of nighttime and the heroine's yearning for the sun, but Continue reading »
A middle-schooler's brother disappears one day. As she weaves scattered recollections of her brother into what PW
called "an affecting account" of Continue reading »
Although Violet's love of music ostensibly forms the heart of Johnson's (When I Am Old with You
) story, the rhythm and joy of a child's delight in Continue reading »
Identified in an endnote as the "Babe Ruth of the Negro Leagues," Josh Gibson serves as the catalyst to Johnson's (Violet's Music
, reviewed Continue reading »
Johnson's (The First Part Last
) quiet, affecting story told in three voices follows Bird, 13, as she runs away in pursuit of her stepfather. In rural Continue reading »
According to an author's note, Johnson's (When I Am Old with You
) story pays tribute to the children who played a role in the civil rights movement, the Continue reading »
According to PW
, "In lyrical language, the author raises intriguing themes of the supernatural, the lure of nighttime and the heroine's yearning for Continue reading »
PW
called this tale of 13-year-old Bird and two boys connected by a single heart (her stepfather's nephew, recipient of a heart transplant, and the boy Continue reading »
The team behind I Dream of Trains
masterfully presents a story of the Tuskegee Airmen, as light and graceful as the air in which they navigated their planes. A Continue reading »
Not all artists lead tortured lives. At least, not this heroine, an African-American girl who "loves her mamma, daddy and baby brother and the world they live in." Johnson (Continue reading »
When a yellow parade balloon announces, "This is the day," the other balloons call him a dreamer. A pointy sun balloon with a wide, toothy smile, Ray breaks free of his ropes during a parade, Continue reading »
More evocative in their use of language than many other board books, this quartet traces small moments in the life of Joshua, an African American boy. He dons slicker and galoshes in the first book Continue reading »
An African American girl and her Grandaddy imagine many shared activities yet to come; PW noted, ``The joy the two characters have in each other's company is richly evoked by Soman's vivid, burnished Continue reading »
PW , in a starred review, praised this ``thoughtfully nuanced and penetrating'' novel about three generations of women from an African American family who must cope with a beloved grandmother's Continue reading »
As in her Gone from Home (reviewed above), Johnson here explores the themes of what makes a place home and which people family. Fourteen-year-old Marley's tranquil life in Heaven, Ohio, turns hellish Continue reading »
Mama's memories of her own childhood have been told to her daughter so many times that the girl has made them her own bedtime litany; she tells her mother the stories and her mother reassures her Continue reading »
``When I am old with you, Grandaddy,'' says a small black child, ``I will sit in a big rocking chair beside you and talk about everything.'' And he does, rushing and tripping through all the Continue reading »
Called a ``wise and gentle book'' by PW, this is an ``irresistible'' portrait of a girl's close relationship with her two older sisters. Ages 3-6. Continue reading »
In this exuberant celebration of love and sharing, Maya is given an Alaskan pig and learns that friendship is a two-way street. Johnson's humorous, upbeat text rings with its own rhythm as it Continue reading »
No one knows when the whispers will start--not Nicole, who is 25, beautiful and schizophrenic; not Aunt Shirley, whose calm patience is a way of saying ``Live with it''; and especially not Sophy, who Continue reading »
Sara is not at all sure she wants Mama to leave her with a new baby-sitter. Miss Alice nevertheless soon has her dancing to the radio (``These are my dancing shoes, Sara,'' she says), eating a snack, Continue reading »
A boy tells of the last few days before his family moves to a new home in a story that ""may well provide reassurance for parents and children facing a relocation,"" according to PW. Ages 4-7. Continue reading »
This ""luminous"" novel, said PW in a starred review, ""offers a delicate yet unflinching look at the shadows that spread over families of schizophrenics.... a story of subtle but real hope."" Ages Continue reading »
Decorated with blurred photographs from a family album, this touching collection focuses on the denizens of Shorter, Ala., a town that is due to be leveled because of ""some big company wanting to Continue reading »
After her parents divorce and her best friend moves away, a teen must adjust to her altered life in a small Ohio town. ""A quiet, heart-wrenching read,"" said PW. Ages 10-13. (Dec.) Continue reading »
In this tender picture book, Johnson (Gone from Home; When I Am Old with You) and Evans (Osceola; Shaq and the Beanstalk) pay tribute to an enviable treasure: wise and loving family elders. Every Continue reading »
With only the most tenuous memories of her mother, the young narrator of these evocative poems thrives with a loving father and her Aunt Lucille. But when her father says she can visit her mother, Continue reading »
With several picture books already to her credit, Johnson ( When I Am Old with You ) makes an especially promising foray into YA fiction with this thoughtfully nuanced and penetrating novel. Emily, Continue reading »
The bittersweet feelings that accompany the move from a familiar home to a new one are portrayed with a gentle hand in the latest offering from the creators of When I'm Old with You and One of Three. Continue reading »
A classroom visit from a local zookeeper and a collection of animals awakens a girl's interest in snakes in this picture book by Do Like Kyla 's collaborators. Ali is so taken with Silvia, the snake Continue reading »
Johnson's (Julius; Toning the Sweep) cryptic tale suggests questions, then leaves it wholly to the reader to answer them. Told by the older of two siblings who live with their white father and Continue reading »
A nostalgic look at old-time peddlers inspires two enterprising youngsters in Johnson's (When I Am Old with You) tender story. An African American girl tells her friend about her grandfather's fond Continue reading »
In Johnson's (Humming Whispers) absorbing character study, the country prepares the bicentennial celebration of Independence Day while 13-year-old Doreen and her younger brother Robert start a new Continue reading »
In these 12 well-honed stories told in first-person narrative, Johnson (Toning the Sweep) zeroes in on the idealism and resiliency that make young people a powerful force in the world. Despite their Continue reading »
Johnson (Toning the Sweep) once again evokes a strong sense of place with this breezy, slice-of-life chapter book. Loosely structuring the volume as a series of vignettes, the author recounts a Continue reading »
Here comes the bride--and her younger sister, the flower girl, who offers a glimpse of what it's like to prepare for and participate in a family wedding. From trying on wedding gowns, to tasting the Continue reading »
Angela Johnson returns to the characters and setting of Maniac Monkeys on Magnolia Street with When Mules Flew on Magnolia Street. Now that Charlie has settled into her new neighborhood, she is only Continue reading »
These in-sync collaborators offer a lighthearted glimpse into a day in the life of a bubbly African-American girl who lives with her Papa Pete in a house across from a park. Johnson's (The Day Ray Continue reading »
Three-time Coretta Scott King Award%E2%80%93winner Johnson (Heaven) pens a story of dazzling immediacy set in Cleveland. Her keenly observant narrator, Scotty, 16, divides her days between attending Continue reading »
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom
Angela Johnson
This elegant collaboration by the creators of Lily Brown’s Paintings tells of the day that slaves on a Texas plantation learn they are free, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Continue reading »
Readers interested in artificial intelligence, or AI, should find this full-scale update of the field indispensable. The book takes its place with such notable works on the subject as Douglas Continue reading »
The Mambo Kings are two brothers, Cesar and Nestor Castillo, Cuban-born musicians who emigrate to New York City in 1949. They form a band and enjoy modest success, playing dance halls, nightclubs and Continue reading »
In this simplistic yet well-packaged contemporary parable, Mandino (The Twelfth Angel) returns with further inspirational advice for better living. When a wheelchair-bound preacher in Central Park Continue reading »
Clare, the undead fox of Deadwood Forest, is cast as a monster by the local children who gather each Halloween around the forest’s edge to chant about how he “waits to feast/ On Continue reading »
Poet and educator Keith (How the Boogeyman Became a Poet) delivers a poignant, hip-hop-fueled collection of poetry that’s equal parts memoir, love letter, and rallying cry to Continue reading »
Sixteen-year-old Sabel is puzzled by tonight’s family meal, which seems to be a special spread of her and her four siblings’ favorite foods. Sickness and savagery have toppled Continue reading »
Willis Hudson movingly exalts the power of African American spirituals in a lyrics showcase that pairs existing verses with feelings they can evoke. On the first page, a Black Continue reading »