Locomotion

Jacqueline Woodson

Dec 2004 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

as a sixth grade student, this book was so uninformative! The book dips in and out of subjects like a snap of the fingers. One minute your at school with a bully, next minute your here. and then your somewhere else. and maybe it was to put it in perspective of a sixth grader, but with all these minor and boring details make the book hard to follow. And this is supposed to be a poetry book. But I forget at points that it's even supposed to be a poetry book. Plus they leave so many unfinished conflicts! What about the love interest? What about the bully? So many questions are left unanswered. This book was a mess of unfinished conflicts, boring minor characters, and a plot that never even made much sense.

This book is narrated by an internal voice observing an external point of view. I wish that I would hear more voices inside rather than things. Otherwise, some of his memories tore at my heart strings, I could relate. Even though I am not an orphan, I feel very alone sometimes, and some of his stories I connected with.

This book is a great book. It shows you how a 11 year od boy can really catch your attention with his great poems!!! I reccomend this book for people ages 11-15

About the author

Born on February 12th in Columbus, Ohio, Jacqueline Woodson grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and Brooklyn, New York and graduated from college with a B.A. in English. She now writes full-time and has recently received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. Her other awards include three Newbery Honors, two Coretta Scott King awards, two National Book Award finalists, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Although she spends most of her time writing, Woodson also enjoys reading the works of emerging writers and encouraging young people to write, spending time with her friends and her family, and sewing. Jacqueline Woodson currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.