Customer Reviews

Locomotion

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

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.

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.

I really liked this book, although it was more of a collection of poems that actual story. It had a very loose flow to it. There was no real structure. Lonnie, the main character, told a story through statements and poems throughout the book. It is written for children without giving them that same standard type of rhyming poem that they are accustomed to seeing. It is recommended from ages six to twelve, but the issues it deals with reach a much larger fan base. From those dealing with the loss of a family member, those dealing with tragedy, and those battling sickle cell these book has a way of touching and helping those. In order to deal with the loss of his parents and separation from his sister Lili, Lonnie uses art as a medium to express his emotions. The result is a story told entirely in different kinds of poems. Long poems, short poems, sonnets, haiku, and letters to be exact. Kids love this book because it's a quick read. Each line written is a glimpse into Lonnie's soul as he discover's and becomes aware of himself and the world around him.

This book, Locomotion, was an okay book. I think that in some ways it was good and in some ways bad. The book should have been called a collection of poems rather than a book. The poems did not fit like a story well because they never reached a climax. I think that this book would suit someone who wanted to learn that poetry does not need to rhyme and that they can be very freeform. Woodson has a gift for writing poetry, but not for creating a plot. I would not recommend this book to someone looking for a great book, but for a quick read. I thought that the book did not satisfy me but still deserves a decent rating. It was interesting to discuss at times but sometimes the poems lacked deeper meaning. All in all, the book was good but not a book that I would highly recommend.

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 across town. No one wanted an older boy, though, so Lonnie was sent to live for a long time in a group home, where he learned to be tough and careful around other boys. It was not a good place to live.

Finally a woman, Miss Edna, took Lonnie in as a foster child. He isn't adopted by her but he expects to live with her for a long time. Her own two sons are grown up, one in the army and one living upstate, and she says she learned over the years how to deal with boys.

Lonnie is now eleven years old and has a lot of feelings inside him that he doesn't know how to get out--feelings about Miss Edna and about Lili and about his parents. In school his teacher is teaching them about poetry, and Lonnie discovers that he has some talent for writing poetry and it is much easier to get his feelings down in a poem than it is to try to express himself any other way. So he throws himself into his poetry journal, which becomes the perfect outlet for him.

I liked that despite all of his hardships and his rough life, Lonnie was pretty much doing okay. He wasn't into trouble and was doing well in school and didn't become a stereotypical inner city kid with no parents. I also liked the relationships Lonnie had first with his sister and then with Rodney.

The poetry in this story didn't always work for me, though. Poetry is always a bit disjointed, and it was sometimes hard to get a feel for what Lonnie's life was like, with so little description.

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. When I got to the middle, I loved the book. I love this book because it was interesting how it was told in poems. So I would recommend this book to people.

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. The plot was very believable because a child could loose their parents and can be separated from their siblings. I would recommend this book to others because it tells a wonderful story about friendship.

When my English teacher told us that we were going to read Novel in verse books, our whole class groaned. But Locomotion was the book i was instantly attracted to because of the story line. Our librarian suggested certain books, and this was one of them. This fantastic book by Jacqueline Woodson would be one that i recommend to kids and adults.

The book is very flowing, the author did a great job of voice, talking like an 11-year-old African American child, living in the city without his parents or his sister. The boy (Lonnie C. Motion) finds out how to get his feelings out on paper due to a great English teacher named Ms. Marcus.

The book is short, and easy read. I really like how this book explores what a child under adoption, split from his family is like. It gives you a real look into what goes on in the society today.

I would most deffinatly reccomend this book.

The book "Locomotion" is about how an 11 year old kid called Lonnie Collins Motion and his sister Lilly Motion lose their parents in a tremendous fire while they were going home from a family reunion they had gone to. Then as soon as the bodies are sent to the hospital in an ambulance then once the people in the hospital find where to call the grandama answers the phone and wonders why the hospital is calling the house they tell her that two adults have died in fire that had been started by someone else. Then after the kids grandma had found out she told the kids that their parents had died in a terrible fire. At first the kids felt bad but then afterwards they thought that whoever had done this to their would get caught sooner or later. This is what the book "Locomotion" is mainly about.

I think this book is a very interesting and at the same time sad because first the kids lose their parents in a fire but what is intersting is that the police does not know who started this fire and also they don't have any information about that person aswell. I definetly recomend this book to people who like reading books about kids and what has happened to them and their family throughout their lives. This is what I think about the book "Locomotion".