It was Rylant who submitted Johnson's first book, Tell Me a Story, Mama, to her publisher. Rylant's library of children's books along with her encouragement inspired Johnson to begin working on her first picture books. She wrote short stories and "punk poetry" while she was a college student, but she realized that children's writing was where her future lay while working as a nanny for the young son of writer Cynthia Rylant, author of the Henry and Mudge series, in the mid-1980s. Her father and grandfather were storytellers and she enjoyed listening to stories being read at school. Stories were an important part of Johnson's childhood. She attended Kent State University where she studied special needs education, but fearing having a degree would push her into teaching rather than allowing her to write she left before graduation. The family moved to Ohio when Johnson was 15 months old, and she has lived there ever since. Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on June 18, 1961, Angela Johnson is the daughter of Arthur, an autoworker, and Truzetta (Hall) Johnson, an accountant.
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