When Lonnie Collins Motion was seven years old, his life changed forever. Now Lonnie is eleven and his life is about to change again. His teacher, Ms. Marcus, is showing him ways to put his jumbled feelings on paper. And suddenly, Lonnie has a whole new way to tell the world about his life, his friends, his little sister, Lili, and even his foster mom, Miss Edna, who started out crabby but isn’t so bad after all. Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical voice captures Lonnie’s thoughtful perspectives of the world and his determination to one day put a family together again.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The kinetic energy of the aptly named Locomotion (the nickname of Lonnie Collins Motion) permeates the 60 poems that tell his sad yet hopeful story. Lonnie's first poem sets up a conflict familiar to anyone who has attempted creativity: despite the cheering of his teacher, Ms. Marcus ("Write it down before it leaves your brain," she says), as he begins to write, Lonnie hears the critical voice of his foster mother ("It's Miss Edna's over and over/ Be quiet!"). As Lonnie explores poetry's various forms throughout this brief yet poignant and occasionally humorous volume, he also reveals Miss Edna's kindness toward him in the little things she says and does ("The last time Miss Edna came home and found me/ crying She said Think/ about all the stuff you love, Lonnie"). Gradually Lonnie reveals that at age seven, his parents died in a fire, leaving him and his younger sister, Lili, orphaned. Lili was adopted, yet Lonnie figures out a way to visit her regularly. The gradual unfolding of his life's events intermingle with his discoveries about poetry as a form, from haiku to sonnets ("Ms. Marcus says "sonnet" comes from "sonnetto"/ and that sonnetto means little song or sound/ It reminds me of that guy's name Gepetto/ the one who made Pinocchio from wood he found") to the epistle poems he writes to his father and to God. Woodson, through Lonnie, creates (much as Sharon Creech did with the boy narrator in Love That Dog) a contagious appreciation for poetry while using the genre as a cathartic means for expressing the young poet's own grief. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-In Jacqueline Woodson's novel (Putnam, 2003), fifth grader Lonnie Collins Motion, an African-American boy whose parents were killed in a fire four years ago, is given an assignment by his teacher to write different forms of poetry. Collected here are 60 poems in verse that reveal his innermost thoughts about his family, his friends, and his place in the world. Through Lonnie's poetry notebook, we learn that he is a foster child living in New York City, and that he has been separated from his little sister, Lili. This school assignment has given Lonnie an outlet for dealing with his feelings of grief over the loss of his parents and coming to terms with his present situation. JD Jackson narrates the poems with a genuine and honest voice, allowing listeners to feel the rhythm of the different poetry styles from sonnets to haiku to free verse. Jackson's performance is tender at times and full of energy at others, giving Lonnie's character tremendous depth and bringing to life all of the lesser characters. We are able to see directly into his life and feel his sorrow and pain as well as his hope for the future. This novel about survival and the resiliency of the human spirit should be an essential purchase for all libraries with the print version in their collections and should be paired with it at every opportunity.
Casey Rondini, Westerly Public Library, RI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Casey Rondini, Westerly Public Library, RI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
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More About the Author
Jacqueline Woodson's awards include 3 Newbery Honors, a Coretta Scott King Award and 3 Coretta Scott King Honors, 2 National Book Awards, a Margaret A. Edwards Award and an ALAN Award -- both for Lifetime Achievement in YA Literature. She is the author of more than 2 dozen books for children and young adults and lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
LOCOMOTION by Jacqueline Woodson tops the list of originality with thought provoking words from a little boy named Lonnie. Although LOCOMOTION is categorized as poetry, it is not written as one of the traditional styles of poems that rhyme. LOCOMOTION is a collection of poems that reads as a story with uniqueness and wonderful grandeur. Every word echoes a young child's hurt and rediscovery of self.
Lonnie, who lost his parents in a fire, writes in first person in the book. He tells a story through poetic form of suddenly being left alone and separated from his little sister, Lili. Lonnie is encouraged by his teacher to write down all this thoughts as soon as they hit his brain. He writes about living in a foster home, visits with his sister and going to school each day. Lonnie continues his thoughts about the new kid in school, his friends and learning about sickle cell anemia for the first time. He writes of trying to believe in God, as his little sister has done, believing one day they will be together as a family. The most heart wrenching part was his words of about not having his parents with them anymore and learning that he and his sister would be living in separate homes.
I have never read such an enjoyable children's book as LOCOMOTION. Jacqueline Woodson has opened new doors of poetic style and humble offerings. Although this book is written for ages six to twelve, a book of this magnitude can be enjoyed by all ages. Several selections brought tears to my eyes and caused my heart and soul to interact with each word. The heartfelt meaning of why Lonnie was expressing himself through words was moving. Jacqueline Woodson has indeed written another award winning children's book.
Reviewed by Kalaani
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
Lonnie, who lost his parents in a fire, writes in first person in the book. He tells a story through poetic form of suddenly being left alone and separated from his little sister, Lili. Lonnie is encouraged by his teacher to write down all this thoughts as soon as they hit his brain. He writes about living in a foster home, visits with his sister and going to school each day. Lonnie continues his thoughts about the new kid in school, his friends and learning about sickle cell anemia for the first time. He writes of trying to believe in God, as his little sister has done, believing one day they will be together as a family. The most heart wrenching part was his words of about not having his parents with them anymore and learning that he and his sister would be living in separate homes.
I have never read such an enjoyable children's book as LOCOMOTION. Jacqueline Woodson has opened new doors of poetic style and humble offerings. Although this book is written for ages six to twelve, a book of this magnitude can be enjoyed by all ages. Several selections brought tears to my eyes and caused my heart and soul to interact with each word. The heartfelt meaning of why Lonnie was expressing himself through words was moving. Jacqueline Woodson has indeed written another award winning children's book.
Reviewed by Kalaani
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A Kid's Review
Format:Hardcover
I love this book because he expereses his feelings in poems.I would recamend this book to people who like poems or are afraid to express their feelings. In stead of saying it like it's bad, but express in things that you like doing. Read this book and you'll fall in love. I wish there was a locomotion 2.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A Kid's Review
Format:Paperback
In this book Locomotion is going through a lot because he is trying to live in the same foster home as his little sister, Lili. It is also hard for him because when he writes about his parents being in the fire it makes him sad. Sometimes he gets mad because whenever Locomotion goes to visit his little sister, Lili, her foster mother acts like she doesn't want him there. I would recommend this book because it is interesting how his life style was when he was growing up.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lacking
His parents have died tragically and now Locomotion is using poetry to help him process his changed family and relationships with friends. There is so much potential in this story! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Amanda Northrup
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tough Times Make Tough People
This book touched my heart and made me feel Lonnie's pain of his past from his parents dying in a fire and not being able to live with his much loved sister. Read more
Published 7 months ago by A_L
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving, compelling and uplifting
When Lonnie Collins Motion - aka Locomotion - is 7, his parents die and he and his sister end up in different foster homes. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Lisa
4.0 out of 5 stars
A book written as a series of poems
Lonnie Collins Motion (get it? Lo Co Motion) has a hard life. Both his parents were killed in a house fire and he and his sister have been sent to live separately with new parents. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Debnance at Readerbuzz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beauty of innocent expression
Book is written in a voice of an 11-year old boy. Orphaned at age of 7, he and his sister are separated and live in foster care. Read more
Published on January 13, 2010 by Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb book
I greatly enjoyed reading Locomotion for a Graduate study's class at Lesley
It is poetry read like a story, brilliantly done. Read more
It is poetry read like a story, brilliantly done. Read more
Published on March 16, 2009 by Yen T. Chen
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wanted More Description
When Lonnie was seven and his sister Lili was four, their parents were killed in a fire. Lili was a sweet little girl and was adopted by a nice family who live in a nice house... Read more
Published on June 10, 2007 by A. Luciano
5.0 out of 5 stars
Locomotion, A Great Book
This book Locomotion is really like a poem book not more like a story. So if you come across this book try to read it because at first I did like it at all. Read more
Published on April 3, 2007
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dancing
I really enjoy the genre of poetry. Each line flows off the page. The book Love that Dog made me like the genre because I love how the word flow with the lines. Read more
Published on April 3, 2007
4.0 out of 5 stars
Locomotion, A Touching, Learning Story
When my English teacher told us that we were going to read Novel in verse books, our whole class groaned. Read more
Published on February 23, 2007
