never set out to teach a lesson, to lecture anyone. I just want to tell a good story." Jonathan Hunt, chair of the 2018 Margaret Edwards Award committee praised Johnson's writing for its timeless, nuanced, and elegant craft as well as its wide appeal. Fellow children's book author Jacqueline Woodson describes Johnson's writing style as realistic, engaging, and accessible. She says "you can tell by reading her work that she takes her time with the narrative and truly cares about the characters." Rarely attending conferences or making class visits, Johnson avoids the public eye. She does not have a social media presence, although she does have a website. Although she has slowed down, Johnson plans to continue writing. Awards Johnson has won awards for both picture books and novels. She won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for Tell Me a Story, Mama in 1991. She has won the Coretta Scott King Award three times, for Toning the Sweep in 1994, Heaven in 1999, and The First Part Last in 2004. (She is a two-time runner-up for When I Am Old With You in 1990 and The Other Side, Shorter Poems in 1998.) She won the Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association in 2004, recognizing The First Part Last as the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". In 2003 Johnson received a MacArthur Genius Grant. In 2018 Johnson was awarded the Margaret Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature." In 2013 the Vermont College of Fine Arts and Barry Goldblatt Literary (an organization that works to foster the careers of children's and young adult authors) announced the creation of a scholarship named after Johnson. The scholarship awards $5000 to up to two students of color attending the MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults program. Goldblatt chose to name the scholarship in honor of his first client, Angela Johnson. At Kent State University, Johnson was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2007 and received the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award in 2013. She received the 2021 Harper Lee Award. Works Picture books for primary grades (K-2) Tell Me a Story, Mama (1989) When I am Old With You (1990) Do Like Kyla (1990) One of Three (1991) The Leaving Morning (1992) Julius (1993) The Girl Who Wore Snakes (1993) Mama Bird, Baby Birds (1994) Joshua's Night