Angela Johnson Books in Order

At bedtime, Mama begins a familiar story about her childhood, but her daughter soon takes over. Together they revisit the journey Mama and Aunt Jessie made alone by train to St. Louis, turning memory into a shared ritual.

A little girl copies her older sister Kyla through the small events of an ordinary day. The charm comes from sibling closeness, and from the moment the older sister copies back.

A little girl imagines growing old alongside her granddaddy and sharing the things they love to do. Her vision of their future gives this picture book its affectionate exploration of the bond between grandparent and child.

The youngest of three sisters experiences city life through games, shopping, and subway journeys. Sometimes included and sometimes left out, she navigates the pleasures and frustrations of sisterhood with comfort from her parents close at hand.

Two siblings prepare to move, packing their belongings and saying goodbye to the neighbourhood they know. As familiar surroundings become memories, they face the sadness of leaving and the possibilities waiting in a new home.

Maya’s grandfather arrives from Alaska with an enormous pink pig. While her parents see a messy houseguest, Maya discovers a playful companion and protector, learning that friendship means sharing both adventures and affection.

Ali is fascinated by Silvia, a snake that makes her think differently about fear and beauty. When she volunteers during a class presentation, the story turns on bravery, curiosity, and seeing beyond first reactions.

Three generations of African American women carry different truths about their family. As their stories emerge, everyday memories become entangled with racism and violence, challenging what each woman understands about the lives of the others.

Joshua spends a day at the beach with his family, discovering the sun, sand, and sea. Through a young child’s observations, familiar seaside pleasures become small adventures shared with the people who have brought him there.

Joshua and his father listen together to the sounds that fill the night. Their quiet encounter turns ordinary whispers and noises into an intimate moment of discovery, offering a young child reassurance through a parent’s company.

Joshua and his sister pause to watch a mother bird bringing food to her babies. Their shared encounter with a bird family makes a small moment of observing nature the focus of this board book.

A young boy in a yellow raincoat enjoys playing outside in the rain. This board book follows the pleasure of a familiar wet day, inviting young readers to share his delight in an ordinary outdoor adventure.

Fourteen-year-old Sophy watches her older sister Nicole struggle with schizophrenia and fears that the same illness awaits her. As Nicole hears voices and loses control, Sophy must confront uncertainty about both her sister’s future and her own.

Sara feels anxious when Mama leaves her with a new babysitter. Miss Alice’s changing shoes accompany dancing, walking, and resting, gradually helping Sara enjoy their day together while learning that missing her mother and having fun can coexist.

An aunt’s visit prompts children in an interracial family to consider what connects them to one another. Through their growing understanding of her place in the household, they discover family bonds that reach beyond differences in appearance.

Four short verses follow a young Black boy’s happy life at home. Family affection, shared memories, and meaningful everyday details connect his experiences with those of older generations in this picture book about belonging and growing up.

While loading a wagon with homemade cookies and fans, a girl retells her grandfather’s memories of a traveling store. His account of childhood in the country connects her present-day activities with the discoveries of an earlier generation.

Young people reach toward connection while living at the margins of ordinary family life. These stories follow characters including Pearl, who disguises herself to survive on the streets, and boys determined to free animals from captivity.

New arrival Charlie explores Magnolia Street and discovers potential friends, neighborhood mysteries, and opportunities for trouble. Linked stories follow her adventures with Billy, from teasing her brother to searching for buried treasure and visiting a museum.

As her town prepares for the Bicentennial, Doreen struggles with her parents’ divorce and her little brother’s sudden silence. A summer overshadowed by loss becomes a search for reassurance through family love and her own emerging faith.

A teenager returns to the Alabama town where she grew up and finds it approaching disappearance. Through poems about its people and places, she considers the memories that survive when a childhood home begins to vanish.

Daisy watches the preparations for her older sister’s wedding and shares the celebration as it unfolds. Alongside the excitement, she experiences the bittersweet feelings that accompany a family occasion and the changes it brings.

City children Jesse and his sister visit their great-aunts and great-uncles in the country. As the older relatives watch and the children play outdoors, the visit becomes a meeting of generations with different rhythms of daily life.

Summer brings unfamiliar neighbors and new adventures to Charlie’s block on Magnolia Street. While friends leave for camp and a mysterious family arrives, Charlie finds an unexpected reason to cooperate with her usually troublesome older brother.

A girl living with her father and aunt prepares to visit the mother she has not seen for years. These poems trace her anticipation and uncertainty as she considers what it means to become her mother’s daughter again.

Poems recall the largely unrecognized workers who built America’s canals, roads, railroads, bridges, and tall buildings. Their labor, often performed by recent immigrants, becomes the focus of an account of the people behind the structures.

Michaela loves the ocean beside her home, but she loves her brother Red more. When he suddenly disappears, she struggles to face his absence and find comfort in the life and memories they once shared.

A dangerous sensitivity to sunlight confines Lila indoors until nightfall. Two mysterious girls bring stories and companionship to her evenings, but when they promise to help her experience the sun, she must confront her deepest longing.

A young Black boy working in cotton fields dreams of riding the trains that pass nearby. His admiration for engineer Casey Jones offers escape from daily labour, but losing his hero threatens the hope those trains represent.

After her stepfather leaves, thirteen-year-old Bird follows him from Cleveland to Alabama, determined to bring him home. Her journey draws her into the lives of two troubled boys, opening unexpected possibilities for connection amid loss.

A grandmother’s childhood baseball talent rivals that of her hero, Josh Gibson, but girls in the 1940s face barriers of their own. Her story explores denied opportunities and the ways one person’s determination can inspire another.

Violet sings and plays whenever she can, but struggles to find other children who share her devotion to music. As she grows, her search for companions becomes a story about friendship and staying faithful to what she loves.

Two young girls slip out of their home to join a march for freedom and justice. Their journey through a gathering community shows how children, too, took part in the struggle for civil rights.

A boy’s fascination with flying carries him from rural Alabama towards the skies over wartime Europe. Through his journey, this picture book introduces the Tuskegee Airmen and the determination behind their place in American history.

Lily Brown’s paintings transform everyday surroundings into a world of singing fruit, tea-drinking trees, and upside-down people. Her imaginative pictures connect familiar family life with the freedom to see ordinary things in entirely new ways.

Ray is a parade balloon who dreams of flying without strings. While the festivities keep him tethered above the crowd, his determination to reach the open sky turns an ordinary parade into an adventure in freedom.

Lottie Paris fills ordinary days with imaginative adventures, dressing up, playing outside, and hoping for cookies instead of vegetables. Her lively view of home and family finds surprising possibilities in the small pleasures of being a child.

Scotty relies on her friends and younger brother to make everyday life interesting. After a devastating accident leaves her feeling responsible for a loss, she struggles to live with guilt and discover how to move forward.

Lottie loves library books about space, while Carl prefers dinosaurs. When their visits bring them together, the two children discover new interests and a friendship, even as the library rules test their exuberance and curiosity.

A girl imagines possibilities beyond the limits others place on her. Johnson’s poem and Nina Crews’s photographic collages celebrate girls of color, encouraging young readers to trust their individuality and pursue dreams that others dismiss.

A young girl begins an ordinary day with her family, unaware that news of freedom is approaching. Through her eyes, the first Juneteenth becomes a shared experience of surprise, celebration, and a newly possible future.