Amazon.ca:Customer reviews: Locomotion

Reviewed in Canada on October 3, 2003

"You have a poet's heart, Lonnie./ That's what Ms. Marcus said to me./ I have a poet's heart./ That's good. A good thing to have./ And I'm the one who has it."
Lonnie Collins Motion does have a poet's heart, and the readers of this book feel honored to watch his gift emerge as he works to come to terms with what life has given him. Through poetic structures, Lonnie shares his life with us. Lonnie was seven and away at a babysitter's house when a fire claimed the lives of his parents. He and his little sister were taken into foster care and were soon separated from each other. Like other adolescent boys, Lonnie makes decisions every day about friends and girls and school, but his painful past and his intense self-reflection give him greater dimension than the ordinary coming-of-age character. It is Lonnie's love for his sister and his desire to rebuild his relationship with her that forces him to make big decisions about God and his future and, in turn, forces the reader to connect to him and want great things for him. Ms. Edna, Lonnie's foster mother, proves to be a greater inspiration than the reader initially expects, and his English teacher, Ms. Marcus provides him the opportunity to discover what really matters.
This book is what some might call a "quick read," but the themes that emerge and memorable and honest. I recommend this book to readers ages 12 through adulthood.

Helpful

N. S.

Richie's Picks: LOCOMOTION

Reviewed in Canada on November 30, 2003

POETRY POEM
You don't just get to write a poem once
You gotta write it over and over and over
until it feels real good to you
And sometimes it does
and sometimes it doesn't
That's what's really great
and really stupid
about poetry.
One lunchtime presentation at NCTE that I won't soon forget was listening to Jacqueline Woodson read extensively from her latest book, LOCOMOTION:
MAMA
Some days, like today
and yesterday and probably
tomorrow--all my missing gets jumbled up inside of me.
You know honeysuckle talc powder?
Mama used to smell like that. She told me
honeysuckle's really a flower but all I know
is the powder that smells like Mama.
Sometimes when the missing gets real bad
I go to the drugstore and before the guard starts
following me around like I'm gonna steal something
I go to the cosmetics lady and ask her if she has it.
When she says yeah, I say
Can I smell it to see if it's the right one?
Even though the cosmetics ladies roll their eyes at me
they let me smell it.
And for those few seconds, Mama's alive
again.
And I'm remembering
all kinds of good things about her like
the way she laughed at my jokes
even when they were dumb
and the way she sometimes just grabbed me
and hugged me before
I had a chance to get away.
And the way her voice always sounded good
and bad at the same time when she was singing
in the shower.
And her red pocketbook that always had some
tangerine Life Savers inside it for me and Lili
No, I say to the cosmetics lady. It's not the right one.
And then I leave fast.
Before somebody asks to check my pockets
which are always empty 'cause I don't steal.
Now, I'm somebody who likes to have a book in my hands, rather than on tape, but Jacki Woodson's reading enveloped me in Lonnie's story; LOCOMOTION was the first book I grabbed when I got home yesterday.
"Everybody's doing a brand new dance now
Come on baby, do the Locomotion
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
Come on baby, do the locomotion
My little baby sister can do it with ease
It's easier than learning your abc's
So, come on. come on, do the locomotion with me"
--Gerry Goffin & Carole King
LOCOMOTION is a verse novel in which Woodson tells the story of Lonnie Collins Motion (Get it?) who is eleven. He was lucky to survive his premature birth, and then saw his world devastated at seven when his parents were killed in a fire. Next, he is separated from his beloved little sister, Lili. All by himself, Lonnie suffered through the group home ordeal until coming to live with Miss Edna. With the help of his new foster mom, his inspiring teacher, Ms. Marcus, and the poetry through which he reveals his story, Lonnie begins healing from the trauma he's been enduring. There are good friends at school (one who's even a girl), a new big brother, and a regular schedule of visiting with Lili. Life's not all Disneyland, but Lonnie's a survivor who has made the most of his small share of good luck.
PIGEON
People all the time talking about how much they hate pigeons 'cause pigeons fly by and crap on their heads and then somebody always says That's good luck! That's good luck! so you don't feel all stupid going through your pockets tryna find a tissue to wipe it off and you never find one 'cause you don't be carrying tissues like an old lady so you gotta walk up to some old lady with that pigeon crap on your head and ask her for a tissue and she just goes Don't worry, that's good luck like everybody else and it makes you hate those sky roaches 'cause they're everywhere in the city so you better duck if they fly over your head or else...

Helpful

Steve Kimmi

Redefining Poetry

Reviewed in Canada on May 2, 2004

The best part of Woodson's "Locomotion" is the absence of rhyme. For too many years the American Education system has been propounding the idea that poetry must rhyme. Here Woodson shows us that good poetry does not have to rhyme. Each poem included is emotionally charged, but very accessible. I would suggest this book for readers of all ages.

Helpful

TM

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2018

Verified Purchase

Beautifully written, thought-provoking and a quick read. I recommend it.

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2017

Verified Purchase

An excellent emotive book which promoted great writing and responses from the children.

Sarah Flores

Interesting & quick read for our 13yr old

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

Our 13yr old son is required to read everyday, so I figured I’d get him books he might actually enjoy vs random fluff he haphazardly picks in the school library. He has been through a lot of adversity, so I thought he might connect with characters going through gritty circumstances. He was hesitant to start it when the first page mentioned that it was going to poetry - it isn’t. It’s almost written as short journal entries and is an enjoyable, quick read.

Shaeleigh

Locomotion - Average Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

I had to read this for a college class and I rated it 3/5 stars because it was kind of hard to engage with. It’s alright but not my favorite for that reason.

One person found this helpful

LCS

Such a great read. In all honesty I read this as ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

Such a great read. In all honesty I read this as a course requirement for grad school (had to design a curriculum around it), so it wasn't of my free will. Usually this makes me a bit biased against a book, but this is seriously some great writing. I had my own children read it, and I will read it again.

2 people found this helpful

Paid forward

Excellent Literary Work!

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

My students loved Locomotion! It will definitely become a staple in my fourth grade classes! Jacqueline Woodson does not disappoint with her excellent storytelling skills, yet effectively teaches the art of poetry and and the tools of poetic devices.

6 people found this helpful

Ash T.

A beautiful book for the classroom

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

I used this book as a read aloud with my seventh grade students. It is amazon how engrossed they were in Lonnie's story. The format is very engaging since the book is written in verse. I recommend this book for middle level teachers because of the nature of some of the subject matter. Overall this is beautifully written and must for your shelf.

3 people found this helpful

5 star		77%
4 star		13%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		4%

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