Do Like Kyla

Kyla is the narrator's big sister. Everything that Kyla does, her little sister does. The little sister taps at the birds, stretches, tries to braid her hair, pours honey on her food, and tries to imitate her sister at everything. Someone once said, "Imitation is the purest form of flattery." In this book, that is true. Kyla's sister wants to be just like her! At the end of the book, the younger sister taps at the window and Kyla taps just like her. When I study Angela Johnson, we read this book. It can be used to teach repeating phrases. It is an example of a realistic fiction text.
Johnson, A. and Ransome, J. (1990) Do Like Kyla. Orchard books: New York.

Julius

Johnson, A. and Pilkey, D. (1993) Julius. Orchard Books:New York.

Julius, the pig from Alaska, was a great friend of Maya's. Her grandfather bought him for her. They did everything together. Maya's parents didn't like Julius very much because he made messes, ate everything in the house, and made a lot of noise. Maya liked Julius because he taught her a lot of new things. She took these things and showed her friends how to do them. They liked sharing everything because they were great friends. There are fun illustrations that make children laugh.
This is a different kind of picture book by Angela Johnson. She usually writes realistic fiction. It would be fun to compare the styles of writing from the same author in a different kind of book.

Joshua By the Sea

This short board book is full of feeling. I use this book in my class as an example of a small moment. Joshua is a character in a series of board books by Angela Johnson. One trademark of Johnson's writing is a comeback phrase; in this book it is I am Joshua...and then names places and people he is near. A fast and quality read at the same time.
Johnson, A. and Mitchell, R. (1994) Joshua By the Sea. Orchard Books: New York.

The Leaving Morning

The Leaving Morning is a story of a family moving. Watercolor paintings provide a glance into the life of this family as they prepare to leave one home behind to find another. The word choice is what makes this book shine. I can imagine what it would feel like to get ready to leave on this "soupy, misty morning". My class used Angela Johnson as a mentor author because she has a lot of writing techniques that children can try in their own writing. We used ellipses, wrote about our families, repeating phrases, and even more techniques you can find in this book. She was a great mentor author because she also writes about African American children. The kids in my class see people that they almost recognize in these pictures.


Johnson, A. (1992). The Leaving Morning. New York: Scholastic