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Locomotion
Locomotion
Locomotion
Audiobook1 hour

Locomotion

Written by Jacqueline Woodson

Narrated by Dion Graham

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

Finalist for the National Book Award

When Lonnie was seven years old, his parents died in a fire. Now he's eleven, and he still misses them terribly. And he misses his little sister, Lili, who was put into a different foster home because "not a lot of people want boys-not foster boys that ain't babies." But Lonnie hasn't given up. His foster mother, Miss Edna, is growing on him. She's already raised two sons and she seems to know what makes them tick. And his teacher, Ms. Marcus, is showing him ways to put his jumbled feelings on paper.

Told entirely through Lonnie's poetry, we see his heartbreak over his lost family, his thoughtful perspective on the world around him, and most of all his love for Lili and his determination to one day put at least half of their family back together. Jacqueline Woodson's poignant story of love, loss, and hope is lyrically written and enormously accessible.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 2, 2012
ISBN9781455842476
Locomotion
Author

Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson, winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, is the author of Feathers, Newbery Honor winner Show Way, Miracle’s Boys (recipient of a Coretta Scott King Award and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize), Locomotion and Hush (both National Book Award finalists), among many others. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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Reviews for Locomotion

Rating: 4.24457989701897 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Wasn't feeling well when I read it but it did come off as an honest portrayal of a boy's grief years after his parents' death in a fire and separation from his beloved little sister who lives in another foster home. The poems are quiet and introspective, with glimmers of hope now and then.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a beautiful, very short story, told in verse of a little boy and everything he has in him. Lonnie is trying so hard to express what has happened and what is happening to him. It jerked me from heartbroken to smiling. I really loved this, I'm so glad I finally got to read some Jacqueline Woodson. I'll be ordering the second book next week, and hunting down more of her work at the library.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Powerful poetic storytelling about Lonnie, just after he loses his parents in a fire, and his sister to another foster family.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Each poem is like a vignette that gives the reader a glimpse into the life of Lonnie - Locomotion. Some of the poems are sweet. Some evoke tears. And some, ask for contemplation. It’s the type of book that does not take time to read, and in part because of that, feels like it is meant to be revisited. Just as you would take time to revisit the memory of a friend, maybe.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Using verse poetry introduced to him by a beloved teacher, Lonnie C. Motion tells of love, loss, and continuing on after his world is rocked by tragedy. Locomotion is urban poetry for youth at its best.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written and I liked that it was told from the perspective of a young boy. Lonnie is dealing with the loss of his family and adjusting to life in foster care. I didn't like the way the book ended, it seemed very abrupt and it left quite a few questions unanswered. Overall it was a very good, quick read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is a looking glass into a boy named Lonnie who at seven loses his parents in a fire and his sister is adopted by another family leaving Lonnie with no family. He moves in with Ms. Edna who becomes his second mother. We see the transformation Lonnie goes through after the death of this parents. This book is an inspiration for teachers and we all aspire to help students use their situations and use that as fuel in school. Lonnie's teacher introduces poems to him and teaches him to write his emotions on paper. I truly felt his emotions, and know what it feels like to lose someone like a parent. When my grandfather died, my world collapsed. I didn't know how to grieve besides cry, but it actually brought me closer to God. I find it funny that Lonnie does the same thing. We see that Lonnie reads the bible to his sister and gets closer to God through the transition. The book was a little confusing and I wish it had gone into more detail.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this book of poetry, very eloquent.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The 8th grader picked this book for his poetry free reading book for his Language Arts class. He asked me to read it too.And I think this was an excellent choice for a poetry unit. It's poetry that is, partly, about a boy's enjoyment of his poetry unit. But this boy is 11, orphaned, and in a foster home separated from his sister. And he can express himself through poetry.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lonnie lost his parents in a fire and struggles with this fact quite often with flashbacks and memories. He relieves his pain trough poetry. Although his new house, Ms. Edna, cares for him with love, but still, he misses his family, including his sister, who went to live with another family. The book is fully written in poetry, which I really enjoyed. It gives you a sense of accomplishment to finish each poem and I feel like it would be fun for students to read. I love his close connection with his teacher, Ms. Marcus and it made me feel like teachers really do make a difference in children's life.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Enjoyable & affecting.  Very much like Creech's Love That Dog, but different enough that I won't call plagiarism.  Lonnie isn't as reluctant to write poetry; he really wants to find a way to get his ideas down and poetry is a good thing.  Some of his poems are more structured, too: there are a couple of haiku, a sonnet, and some with verses and simple rhyming schemes.  

    Also, teachers please note, this is good for 'diversity' or 'multiculturalism.'  Lonnie is African-American and knows that color matters, and is in an 'under-served' school with almost no white kids.  But virtually no mention is made of the things that plague other books about this setting; no role is played by drugs, guns, gangs, or abuse.  Lonnie (and sister Lili) are nice kids who happen to face some extra challenges but will be fine.

    Note, too, there is fair bit of God talk.  Lili's foster mother apparently has taught the little girl to be very devout... students can discuss whether that's a good thing or not, and what they think of Lonnie's reaction... and what they think of that woman's reaction to Lili....  Very interesting.  Open-minded Christian homeschooling families would, I'm guessing, have an especial lot to discuss; narrow-minded Christians might take offense.

    I'm quite sure I've enjoyed something else by Woodson; I will look for more by her.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm not really a loud kid, I swear. I'm just me andsometimes I maybe make a little bit of noise.If I was a grown-up maybe Miss Ednawouldn't always be telling me to be quietbut I'm eleven and maybe eleven's just noisy. Maybe twelve's quieter. - Chapter 1 I read this book as part of our poetry unit in my Information Needs of Children graduate class. I am not usually a fan of poetry. I didn't think I would like this book, but I was wrong. It didn't feel like poetry. The poetry in this book took various forms, not necessarily rhyming the last word in each line. The main character, Lonnie C. Motion lost his parents in a fire and has been separated from his sister. His 5th-grade class is learning to write poetry and through this, Lonnie (nicknamed Locomotion) finds a way to express his feeling about his parents, his sister, and his world. He has been through a lot and it comes through in his writing. This novel was moving and very well written. Recommended to:Children (and adults) who enjoy historical fiction and stories of overcoming hardships.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lonnie Collins Motion lost his family at a young age. He spends most of his time reminiscing and thinking about his sister Lili. He chooses to believe in God for his family and hopes to see them again. This book is written in poem form and features many different styles of poetry. My favorite has to be the Haiku of Locomotion's bad day. He mentions things in the book such as the throwaway boys and the white woman in the commercial. He seems to battle the loss of his parents and the way he feels treated throughout this story. Living with Ms. Edna does not seem to be his ideal choice of living in the beginning. He goes from being very happy and talking all of the time to being hushed and then asked why he's not talking. Ms. Marcus gave him his voice back through writing. Locomotion is able to get many of his feelings out and eventually start to move on by writing down his thoughts. Towards the end, he writes HOPE on his hand. This symbolizes a new beginning and a positive attitude for his future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great compelling story of an eleven year old boy's take on life after the death of his parents. The entire booki s written in one kind of poem or another. It is engaging and its first person account makes this story interesting and reflective. This book contsins figurative language and many different types of poems. The main character, Lonnie expre4sses many coomon experiences that eleven year old children could relate to. The story is interesting and incorporates common racial thinking and issues of the time period. There are many chapters that coud be used to illustrate many literary elements. ( allitaration, onomatoepeia, point of view, dialogue, and questioning. )
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    "Locomotion" is a book written in poetry form. The main character Lonnie Collins is nicknamed Locomotion he is an orphan. His teacher Ms. Marcus influences him to express himself through poems. She also encourages him to read. He did not like to read, but she helped make it enjoyable for him. This shows a view point not often shown. This book shows the viewpoint of an orphaned child. The Big idea of this book is the importance of reading and writing and how it allows one to express himself.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Like Creech's Love that Dog & Hate that Cat, this is a collection of poems from a fictional child's poetry journal. The similarities abound (both kids start out hating poems, the teacher is omnipresent with her assignments & the kid responds negatively or positively, a story--past & present--is revealed, healing occurs through poems, the kid becomes confident as a writer/poet, etc.), but the difference is that the problems this eleven-year-old deals with are more intense than the protagonist of Love that Dog. These feelings concern losing one's parents in a fire, foster-homes, group homes, dealing with mortality, religion, race, tolerance, etc. It was pretty good and a quick read. I'd recommend it to some of my students, so good thing I just inherited 5 of them. :)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this book for a few reasons. First, I really liked that it was a chapter book written in a poetry format. I have never seen a chapter book like that and I loved how it was written. I also like that the poems were not necessarily traditional poems and therefore required the reader to think differently while reading. I enjoyed the book because it was a boy's search for acceptance and his sister. I think the main idea of this book is to learn to love yourself.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Summary: This is a book with poetry written from the viewpoint of eleven year old boy, Lonnie. When he was seven he lost his parents and was orphaned. He was seperated from his sister Lili, and put into a foster home where they were allowed to see each other in small increments of time. His teacher, Ms. Marcus, helps Lonnie aka Locomotion how he can express himself through poetry and through his writing.Personal reflection: Reading the poetry from this boy who was so young but had been through so much easily pulled on my heart strings. The poems were beautiful and really spoke to me on a personal and emotional level.Class use: Use the book to show students how poetry can be written in many types of ways and the different emotions that can be expressed through their writing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lonnie's parents died in a house fire when he was young, He and his sister are both in foster care but have been separated. Lonnie likes to visit his sister when he can, but he can tell her new mother does not like him that much. Lonnie finds solace in poetry. His teacher introduces him to poetry and he expresses great interest in all types of poetry. While I am not a fan of poetry, I really enjoyed the book. It kept my interest because when I flipped the page the text was written in a different form of poetry. I think this book would be great to teach to students because the text itself teaches about poetry and its different forms.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Locomotion was an engaging book that written in a way that kept the reading interesting for me. One thing I like about the book is that it is written in poem form. This makes the text seem more readable for me because when I see a lot of words it sometimes makes me not want to read the story. I also liked how the poems were not all in the same form. Some of his poems were in free form and others were in haiku form and some did rhyme like, “sometimes / in the park / in the near dark /one comes out / you’ll hear / a little kid shout” where as other did not rhyme at all. This just helped keep the reading interesting and not monotonous. I particularly liked the haikus because they were very funny, for example, “ever been south? We / used to go all the time. That’s / another poem.”I also liked how since the story is written in the perspective of a boy, the story is written as if a boy was actually speaking, as opposed to everything being perfectly correct. For example, “I was gonna write about Mama’s funeral but Lamont and Ms. Marcus going back and forth zapped all the ideas from my head.” The story being written like this makes the story seem more authentic, which allows me to get into the story more. The main message of this story is to be grateful for the things and people that you have in your life. Through Lonnie’s harsh journey he came to realize that the people in his life were there for him, like Mrs. Edna, who he did not like at first, but he came to realize she was actually nice and really cared for him. This book is a strong carrier of this message because even with all the hardships in Lonnie’s life, he continues to be strong and continue going and appreciates the people in his life.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    “Locomotion,” written by Jacqueline Woodson, tells the story of a young boy named Locomotion and is written entirely through poetry. At age seven, Locomotion and his sister, Lili, became orphans when their parents were killed in a fire. The two children were put in separate foster homes, which deeply hurt Locomotion. This story sends the message that poetry, no matter the format, can help someone get through difficult times. In the case of Locomotion, the reader sees how poetry has helped him to grieve his parents, become happier in his foster home, and have hope for a future where him and his sister will be together again. I truly love the idea of a book written through poetry and I think “Locomotion” tells some important messages; although, I was not really engaged while reading and did not personally feel any real connection to Locomotion’s character. A literary technique this author used to convey the development of Locomotion’s character was the movement of the poems. These poems jumped from situation to situation and from time period to time period. I can see how this can give the reader an opportunity to understand and connect with Locomotion’s journey to grieve and finally feel happiness, but I found it to be too messy. I found myself constantly getting confused trying to keep up with where the story was jumping too and I feel that, because of this, I missed out on important plot details that could have connected me to the main character and the story. One aspect of this story that I did like was the character that was Locomotion’s teacher. Through characterization, the author presents Ms. Marcus’ character as an inspirational teacher that encourages her students to enjoy reading and writing poetry and to use it as an outlet for dealing with personal experiences and struggles and to give the students the opportunity to tell their personal story. I found this character to be relatable because many people had a teacher that inspired and believed in them to succeed.Although I did not personally enjoy this story, the author does convey the message that poetry can be a powerful tool in helping someone express him or herself and help them get through difficult times. The author relays the importance of writing as an outlet through the story of Locomotion and how writing helped him grieve his parents death, find happiness in his life, and have hope that him and his sister will one day be together again. 
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is about a little boy Lonnie who lost his parents in a fire and he and his sister had to go into foster care and his sister got adopted right away and Lonnie got put in a foster home because no one wanted boys who were not babies. Throughout the book Lonnie writes down what he is feeling in all types of different poems which he is introduced to by his teacher Ms. Marcus. Lonnie does not like his foster mom at first but over time he starts to change his mind about her. Miss Edna his foster mom had raised two other boys and knows what makes them tick. When Miss Edna’s son comes home to visit is really when Lonnie started to feel like he had a family with an older brother and a mom. Lonnie did miss his little sister and figured out a way to go a see her at her adopted home. The main idea of the book is even though bad things happen, they do not always have to stay bad. One thing I like about the book is that the author made the entire book poems from beginning to end. In the beginning of the book there is a poem even before the title page written from the main character in the book. Also the book ends with a poem called “June”. Another reason I like this book is that as Lonnie learned different kinds of poems in the book the author wrote in that different style of poetry. For example when Lonnie learned about an “Epistle Poem” the author wrote that part of the book as an epistle poem, as well as when Lonnie learned about “Haiku Poem” the author wrote that part as a haiku poem. Over all I liked the book and the way it was written.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson tells a story, in poetry form, of a teenage boy who lost both of his parents to a house fire. In school, his teacher helps him get into poetry and he uses that to convey all his feelings, memories, and emotions. I would recommend this book to fourth through fifth graders or with anyone coping with loss.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book is about a young boy named Lonnie who is 11 years old and has lost his parents in a house fire. Him and his sister were the only survivors in the whole family. The book is made up of poems that Ronnie has written through his school in his school notebook.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A book of poetry written by a teen who lost both his parents in a fire and was separated from his little sister in foster care. Lonnie's teacher tells her students to start a book of poetry and through these poems, Lonnie starts to heal. Good story, but not something I would read in class. Maybe recommend to individual students for independent reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoyed reading the book, Locomotion, by Jaqueline Woodson. The big idea in this book was the life of two orphan children that were separated after a tragic fire took the lives of their parents. There is repetition of the words “group home” in several phrases that helps the reader understand the way that Lonnie feels in his new situation. He says, “Group home window, group home book, group home hand-me down shirt, group home loudness, group home food.” He misses the days of seeing his parents dance around and call him “Locomotion.” The author uses different poem forms to tell Lonnie’s story. The poem styles are the titles of the chapters. Some of them are, “Haiku, Line Break Poem, and Epitaph Poem.” The whole story is written in poems. Lonnie was able to express himself in writing poems throughout the story, instead of using his words verbally. He says,” I better write fast before Miss Edna’s voice comes and blows my candle out.” His teacher also said, “Write fast Lonnie.” The book is easy to read because it is a series of poems.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    After Lonnie's parents die in a fire, his teacher, Ms. Marcus, teaches him how to let out his feelings on paper. In Locomotion, readers see through Lonnie's different uses of poetry, we learn about the anguish he feels and watch him grow into a more rounded young man. Locomotion is a very grown up short novel for children to read, but it is one that can teach them about poetry and depth.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This story was by far the easiest to read so far. The author’s use of free verse poetry and character development made this story breeze. Upon opening the book, the first thing a reader will notice is that there are no chapters and there are no paragraphs, there is only poetry. It is completely compiled of free verse poetry which insights readers on the main character, Lonnie. This poetry not only makes the story easy to read, but also adds a rhythmic aspect to a story that would normally be very bumpy and broken. After reading only a couple of the poems, I feel as if I know each of the characters very well. Specifically, I know the writer, Lonnie, by reading his intimate thoughts and feelings I felt as if I was placed directly into his life. For example, in the poem” Mama” Lonnie tells how much he misses his mother, especially how she smells. These two strategies helped the author to easily convey her message that every story, no matter how rough and mangled, has a Brightside, you just have to look for it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I found this book to be a quick, but very emotional read. I also found it to be unique in that the entire book was written through poetry, which was one of the aspects I liked best about the story. Lonnie, the main character of the story, expressed his feelings and emotions through poetry after losing his parents in a house fire and being separated from his younger sister. As Lonnie told his story, the style of the poems changed as well, which helps to portray his always changing feelings and emotions. For example, Lonnie writes an epistle poem (letter poem) to his father and writes a sonnet about a girl he has a crush on at school. Another aspect of the book I liked was the narration. Throughout the book, Lonnie tells his story and experiences through first person, allowing the reader to connect with him on a much more personal level. His raw emotions and love for his family are extremely vivid through his words, making the reader want to keep turning the page. The main idea of this story is to always have hope; when it seems like nothing else can go wrong, stay positive and stay strong, because everything gets better in time.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Grade: 4-8Poetry/ProseLocomotion was a very quick but heart-wrenching read. The entire book is written in stanza by the main character Lonnie. Lonnie is using poetry to help express himself after he loses both of his parents in a tragic fire. The poetry although sad at times is also very hopeful especially torwards the end. Within the poetry Lonnie describes his relationships with many important people in his life, especially his little sister Lili, whom he has a huge heart for. Lonnie also often uses his poetry in the novel to flashback. He flashes back to times when he and Lili were small and his parents were still alive. In the beginning of the novel Lonnie flashes back, "Once when we was real little I was sitting at the window holding my baby sister, Lili on my lap. Mama kept saying, honey don't you drop my baby" ( Woodson, 5). My favorite line in the novel comes at the very end when Lonnie really begins to accept the new way of things and becomes grateful of the little things in life. He says, "You see God everywhere these days. Especially when Miss Edna makes her sweet potato pie and when your little sister smiles" (Woodson, 99). Although Lonnie loses his parents before the novel even begins you can see that by the end he has gained a new family, a patchwork family. He has Miss Edna who has taken him in like a new son, and her son Rodney who calls Lonnie 'little brother". He also has Miss Marcus, a teacher who cares a lot, and of course Lili. Their sibling relationship has been strengthened through hardship.