Synopses & Reviews
Review
Twelve short, poignant and compelling tales. (NAPRA ReView, March / April 1999)
Review
In these 12 well-honed stories told in first-person narrative, Johnson zeroes in on the idealism and resiliency that make young people a powerful force in the world . . . Johnson's flavorful language will draw readers immediately into these brief, emotion-packed dramas. (Publishers Weekly, August 3, 1998 -- Starred Review)
Review
Throughout this remarkable collection, Johnson reflects on the human soul in all its variety, and in all its goodness. Despite the weightiness of her themes, Johnson, with her unconventional humor and lightness, burnishes each story so that the ordinary becomes something else entirely. (Horn Book, September/October 1998 -- Starred Review)
Review
They are all written with an economy of expression that will appeal to less-practiced readers while still precisely -- brilliantly -- conveying complex situations and responses. (Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 1998)
Review
This is a collection with a big heart. (Dream/Girl, On display until January 2000)
About the Author
The only daughter in a family of five, Angela Johnson was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, and moved with her family to Ohio when she was barely two years old. She attended Kent State University and continues to live in Ohio, close to her family. Family ties remain strong and often inspire her writing. The Horn Book Magazine gave Gone From Home, a collection of twelve short stories, a starred review, calling it "remarkable," noting that "Johnson reflects on the human soul in all its variety, and in all its goodness....[and] with her unconventional humor and lightness, burnishes each story so that the ordinary becomes something else entirely." Kirkus Reviews lauded Ms. Johnson for "precisely--brilliantly--conveying complex situations and responses." Angela Johnson has received numerous awards, including the Pen/Norma Klein Award. Her picture book When I Am Old with You won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award and was a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. Her distinguished novel Toning the Sweep received the Coretta Scott King Award. In addition, she is the author of another novel, Humming Whispers, as well as many other picture books, among them Tell Me a Story, Mama, which Kirkus Reviews called "an outstanding debut," and Julius, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Dave Pilkey. She has also written board books, as well as a book of poetry. When she is not writing, this prolific author enjoys gardening and traveling. She says that she may go for months without actually writing anything but that there always comes a time when her daily experiences build up to a point when she feels compelled to start writing again.