I first learned of author/poet Jacqueline Woodson when I started using our newest Literature series at school in 2007. A poem called "Almost Summer Sky" captivated me, but it wasn't until this school year that I investigated the book that contained that poem. The book is titled Locomotion, after the name of the main character, Lonnie Collins Motion. It was a 2003 National Book Award finalist.
Through this eleven-year-old's poetry (which he writes because his teacher has assigned it!), we learn of his life as a foster child and the reason why he has become one. Some of the poetry is written in specific forms, like a sonnet or haiku, but most is free verse poetry, which I don't particularly like but think it works very effectively in this book. I remember the first time that I read a book that was in the form of a diary - I didn't like it at first, but wow! the style is really unique! I also like this book because it gives you a very realistic look at poetry from the eyes of a kid - poetry is hard, it's boring, etc. But Lonnie Collins Motion shows you that poetry can be just about anything. This is definitely worth the 1-2 hours you'll spend reading it. I reread it today sitting in the waiting room at my doctor's appointment today. (Yes, I had to wait THAT long!!!)
Through this eleven-year-old's poetry (which he writes because his teacher has assigned it!), we learn of his life as a foster child and the reason why he has become one. Some of the poetry is written in specific forms, like a sonnet or haiku, but most is free verse poetry, which I don't particularly like but think it works very effectively in this book. I remember the first time that I read a book that was in the form of a diary - I didn't like it at first, but wow! the style is really unique! I also like this book because it gives you a very realistic look at poetry from the eyes of a kid - poetry is hard, it's boring, etc. But Lonnie Collins Motion shows you that poetry can be just about anything. This is definitely worth the 1-2 hours you'll spend reading it. I reread it today sitting in the waiting room at my doctor's appointment today. (Yes, I had to wait THAT long!!!)
The other book by Woodson that I read on Tuesday is titled Feathers. It's interesting to me how an author's writing can have it's own unique "flavor", a word I use a lot with my students. These two books definitely have the same flavor. On the page preceding the first part of the book, Woodson quotes Emily Dickinson - "Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul,/And sings the tune-without the words,/And never stops at all."
In the book, Frannie is trying to understand how hope has feathers. She is a black girl going to an all-black school in the 70's. Everything on her side of the highway is black, and the other side is all white, and this after de-segregation! One day, a new student comes to her school - he used to live on the other side of the highway. He claims he's not white, although no one can figure out why. His light skin and longer wavy hair make some of the kids think of pictures of Jesus they've seen, so they take to calling him Jesus boy. The guy receives verbal abuse from one boy in particular, but he can tell that Frannie is interested in figuring him out, especially when he uses sign language that he knows she can understand. Frannie deals with the "stupidity" of others when they react to her brother's deafness. She tries to dodge her best friend's invitations to come to church with her, and she struggles with her mother's health issues as well as her own place within the family. I didn't love-love Feathers, but often I'm grateful for reading something that helps me see things through the eyes of someone very different from me. For that reason alone, I'd recommend it to you!
In the book, Frannie is trying to understand how hope has feathers. She is a black girl going to an all-black school in the 70's. Everything on her side of the highway is black, and the other side is all white, and this after de-segregation! One day, a new student comes to her school - he used to live on the other side of the highway. He claims he's not white, although no one can figure out why. His light skin and longer wavy hair make some of the kids think of pictures of Jesus they've seen, so they take to calling him Jesus boy. The guy receives verbal abuse from one boy in particular, but he can tell that Frannie is interested in figuring him out, especially when he uses sign language that he knows she can understand. Frannie deals with the "stupidity" of others when they react to her brother's deafness. She tries to dodge her best friend's invitations to come to church with her, and she struggles with her mother's health issues as well as her own place within the family. I didn't love-love Feathers, but often I'm grateful for reading something that helps me see things through the eyes of someone very different from me. For that reason alone, I'd recommend it to you!
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