Blog 10 Locomotion

            This was quite an interesting book this week. I’m not sure if I liked it or not- I don’t really have any strong feelings one way or the other about it. I will say I like how it was written in a poetry format all throughout, or should I say relieved that it was short? With the poetry set up, it really made me close with Lonnie. Locomotion is written about Lonnie’s life and the obstacles he has overcome. Lonnie struggles with the death of his parents, and every year on their anniversary he flips out. Ms. Marcus tells him to write in poetry. He doesn’t have to write in formal sentences to express how he is feeling- choppy sentences are fine. This is great for Lonnie because he can just ramble many of his thoughts at once- finished or not.

            I definitely would use this book in my classroom. My students may be able to relate and use poetry themselves to express their feelings. I thought the whole scene where Ms. Marcus explains that Eric has sickle cell anemia was just awkward. When I was reading the section about it, I’m not too sure I would tell my class in the same manner. She should at least have better control over herself with her being comfortable enough to talk about the issue. She seems weary, and that is projected onto the students.  

            I did not care for Lili’s foster mom. I got the impression that she wanted nothing to do with Lonnie. That is just so rude. Lonnie and Lili are siblings and still should be close, not separated. They are family, and they need to be able to cope together about the loss of their parents. She kept looking at Lonnie like he was a piece of filth or something. I loved Lonnie’s passion for wanting to get reconnected with his sister. He did everything he could to please her, even finding a relationship with God.

            I thought the first article, “Who Can Tell My Story” had some very interesting ideas that were brought up. How can you write about something that you are not? I wouldn’t expect my older sister who is the first child to write a book about my life being the middle child. I agree with the author that my sister would not get my story right. She might see how I lived, but she did not know my every feeling and experience. I guess I have mixed emotions of people writing about other people whose backgrounds are totally different. It has obviously been happening since if not there would only be autobiographies to read. However, this is not to say that the stories that I have been reading are “correct”.

            I also enjoyed reading The Long Journey Home. It kept my interest the entire time, and I liked how it was written so that I could really understand David. I was about to connect to David and I felt as if I knew him. I thought it was good to read a story about slavery as opposed to just learning about it in a textbook.

           

Woodson, J. (2003). Locomotion. New York: Puffin Books.

(2003). Who Can Tell My Story? In D. Fox & K. Short (Eds.), Stories Matter: The

            Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children’s Literature (41-45). Illinois: National Council of

            Teachers of English.

Lester, J. (1971). Ben. In J. Lester, The long journey home: Stories From Black History (pp. 60-88). New

            York: Dial.