This blog is brought to you by the Children's Services department of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The books that you see below are those that we believe to be qualified for discussion as possible Coretta Scott King award-contenders. If you have something to say about a title on this blog, please add your comments to the blog post for that title. To suggest a title that you feel we should discuss, please click here to send an email.
Abstract: Through letters to his little sister, who is living in a different foster home, sixth-grader Lonnie, also known as "Locomotion," keeps a record of their lives while they are apart, describing his own foster family, including his foster brother who returns home after losing a leg in the Iraq War.
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2 comments:
Woodson's portrayal of this sensitive young man deeply moved me, to the point of tears. This isn't a sad story though. It is hope-filled and bittersweet and joyful and thought-provoking. Woodson is a master of not tying things together too neatly. She writes life and in an age-appropriate voice.
Okay, I have cried while reading books before, but I can't remember a book that touched me the way Peace, Locomotion did. Ian came out to make sure I was OK! I didn't feel that reading (or rereading) Locomotion was necessary for reading this book. I also was pleasantly surprised that this book was such an even complement to its predecessor. (I know, strike that from the record.)
The characters of this book sat down beside me as I read it and handed me tissues. They understood all too well the flood of emotions this book can create, and the continuing discussions I want to have over coffee. Now.
Peace, Locomotion brought so many raw emotions to the surface. I could palpably feel the love and the strong and forging bonds in these pages. Regardless of how I feel about the war, the crush of feelings woven throughout the story arcs dovetailed seamlessly with each other and showed real growth in the main character. And the strong familial bonds between the siblings themselves and their first and subsequent families gave me such hope. I had to hug my sleeping daughters. Bravo, Jacqueline Woodson.
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