Locomotion by Jacquiline Woodson
Published by: Penguin Group
Published on: January 7, 2010
Page Count: 128
Genre: Children’s Literature / Poetry
My Reading Format: Audiobook won at the APA Audiobook Tea at BEA.
Audiobook Published by: Brilliance Audio
Narrator: Dion Graham
Audiobook Length: 1 hour 29 minutes
Available Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook
Summary from the Publisher
When Lonnie Collins Motion was seven years old, his life changed forever. Now Lonnie is eleven and his life is about to change again. His teacher, Ms. Marcus, is showing him ways to put his jumbled feelings on paper. And suddenly, Lonnie has a whole new way to tell the world about his life, his friends, his little sister, Lili, and even his foster mom, Miss Edna, who started out crabby but isn’t so bad after all. Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical voice captures Lonnie’s thoughtful perspectives of the world and his determination to one day put a family together again.
My Review
I don’t often read children’s literature, but I’m thankful I made an exception for this book. Lonnie Motion stole my heart immediately. He was a young boy trying to make sense of his world after losing his parents in a fire. His biggest priority is making sure to keep connected to his younger sister, Lili. No matter how confused he was about his own circumstances with his friends at school or where he stood with his foster mother, he wanted to be with Lili. I was glad that he was given his poetry notebook as an outlet for his thoughts and feelings.
I had the great good fortune of meeting narrator Dion Graham at the Tantor party during BEA in June. He is very charming and exceptionally nice. Before Locomotion, I had never listened to any of his audiobooks. We talked about his work and he suggested Peace, Locomotion. Although this wasn’t the title he specifically mentioned, I was very to find a copy of this audiobook in my APA Audiobook Tea door prize. I found Graham’s narration to be perfect for this story. He may not have sounded 11, but his performance expressed every ounce of Lonnie’s innocence. Graham’s narration was the smile behind Lonnie’s joy. Equally, his performance during Lonnie’s hardest moments made my heartache. As recently recognized by AudioFile Magazine, Dion Graham has a golden voice. Today is a wonderful day to be an audiobook fan.
Jacqueline Woodson has written a terrific book full of grace, creativity, and poetry in Locomotion. I am looking forward to continuing with Lonnie’s story in Peace, Locomotion. With Dion Graham narrating, it’s certain to be another excellent audiobook experience. Highly recommend.
Is this written in verse or is it a collection of poems? I love books written in verse!
It appears that it is at least partially written in poems. I need to pick up a physical copy. The narration was lyrical.
I’ve never read this, but it sounds good! Glad you stepped outside your normal reading habits and read a kid’s book
Sounds like a wonderful story about loss and coping
I adore children’s literature. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
Dion had recommended Peace, Locomotion to me, too but I’d forgotten about it. Will check it out and thanks for the reminder.
[...] voice was perfect for Alan’s story. This book is in many ways the complete opposite of Locomotion and for me his narration worked equally well in both books. In A Hologram for the King, I also got [...]
[...] have listened to two of Dion’s audiobooks, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson (he also narrated the follow up, Peace, Locomotion) and A Hologram for a [...]