Woodson, J. (2003).
Locomotion. New
York , NY
Locomotion is his name. Lonnie Collins Motion – Lo Co Motion. His mother named him that after the song she
loved to dance to so much. Lonnie, his
little sister Lili, and his mother and father.
“There used to be four of us
Mama, Daddy, Lili and
me. At night we went to sleep.
In the morning we woke up
and ate breakfast.
That was four years
ago.” (p. 32)
Lonnie lost his parents in a
tragedy, and he and his little sister were separated when they couldn’t find
anyone to take them both in. Now,
through the encouragement of Lonnie’s teacher, Ms. Marcus, Lonnie attempts to
write down what he is thinking before the ideas in his head “go out like a
candle and all you see left is this / string of smoke that disappears real
quick / before I even have a chance to find out / what it’s trying to say” (p.
1). So Lonnie chooses poetry because
it’s short and he can write it down before he loses the ideas. “Writing makes me remember. / It’s like my
whole family comes back again / when I write.
All of them right / here like somebody pushed the Rewind button” (p.
42).
This book of poetry is quite
a departure from what we often think of as “children’s poetry.” Lonnie’s life has changed drastically, and
the poems are often difficult to read.
As a teacher, I am inspired by the encouragement that Ms. Marcus gives
to Lonnie. As the custodial grandparent
of a little boy who has been through more than any little boy should ever have
to face, I find myself crying through many of Lonnie’s thoughts and
remembrances. Woodson gives Lonnie
wonderful insight into his own life and the lives of those around him, like the
“New Boy.” Not every page is
poetry. Sometimes Lonnie writes in
prose. However, most pages are poems,
and he often tries his hand at writing different types of poetry as they study
them in school. Poems like “Haiku Poem”
and “Sonnet Poem” are found throughout; however, most poems are free verse
poems that talk about whatever experience Lonnie is having at the time.
Lonnie is African American,
and his teacher is not. African American
writer Jacqueline Woodson portrays the characters with gentleness and warmth,
while illustrating how children of color often feel in school when their
teacher is white. “Ms. Marcus don’t
understand some things even though she’s my favorite teacher in the world. Things like my brown, brown arm. And the white lady and man with all that good
food to throw away. . . . Maybe it’s that if you’re white you can’t see all the
whiteness around you” (p. 13). However,
Woodson’s writing helps us see the world through this young African American
boy’s eyes. Her descriptions are
well-crafted and flowing. Although the
poems don’t rhyme they are appealing as they stimulate the emotions and
imaginations of the reader. Lonnie’s
experiences must certainly be experiences similar to those many children have
faced, and thus the verses will feel familiar.
And if the reader doesn’t have the same kinds of experiences, chances
are they know someone who has, and they can glean some further understanding of
what it is like to be a child who has lived through difficult experiences.
Although this book is
labeled by the Library of Congress as “Juvenile Poetry,” this volume really
reads more like a novel in verse. (For
those of you who have been following along with my posts, you may remember a
discussion of verse novels from this past fall.
We’ll revisit verse novels again this semester a little later). While the poems are separate and each one has
its own title, we are able to follow Lonnie’s story as he loses his parents,
lives in a group home, eventually moves in with Ms. Edna, and finally finds
“home” again.
A quick easy read, this
volume by Woodson would be especially suitable for upper elementary and middle
school readers. Many children will relate to what Lonnie goes through, even if their hard times are different from his. Rather than reading
individual poems from it, readers need to read from beginning to end. Without the continuity of the story, many of
the poems won’t make sense. However, a
good way to introduce the book would be to start with the short story
“Geraldine Moore, the Poet” by Toni Cade.
www.oaklandwrites.org/documents/administering/8GeraldineMoorePrompt.pdf
Geraldine’s English teacher
asks the class to write a poem. “Try expressing
what it is like to be…to be
alive in this…this glorious world.” However, Geraldine is unable to do so
because her family has just been evicted and Geraldine has just returned to
school after a trip home for lunch at which time she found her family’s
belongings out on the sidewalk.
Eventually, she tells her teacher:
"Nothing lovely’s been happening in my life.
I haven’t seen a flower since Mother’s Day,
And the sun don’t even shine
on my side of the street.
No robins come sing on my
window sill.
Just the rain comes, and the
bills come,
And the men to move out our
furniture.
I’m sorry, but I can’t write
no pretty poem."
After reading the short
story, read part of Lonnie’s poem on p. 50.
“Me? I’m just sitting here with nothing
to say wishing Ms. Marcus
would vaporize
like the people do on Star Trek.
Lonnie, she says. Are you writing about your family
Lonnie, she says. Are you writing about your family
or just daydreaming?
Me? I an’t got nothing to say today.
Just feel like sitting here
Watching the rain come down
And down
and
down.”
Compare Lonnie's situation (he states earlier in this section that he can't write about families because he doesn't have one) to Geraldine's.
Students may want to respond
by trying to write their own poetry about their lives as they read Woodson’s
book. However, as teachers, we should be
sensitive to the fact that they may not want to share. As Lonnie says, “Ms. Marcus wants to / see
all my poems. No way. / Some things just
your own” (p. 59).
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