Locomotion, Part 2

Characters

Lonnie
-fighter
-thinker
-dreamer
-a great older brother
-strong
-smart
-lover
-sympathetic
-scared but hiding it

Lili
-young
-scared
-hopeful
-quiet
-caring
-naive

Miss Edna
-caring
-tough, yet gentle
-sign of hope

My Thoughts

I am not someone who generally reads poetry, and I do not necessarily go out of my way to read it. Throughout my childhood I had the picture of poetry as always having to rhyme, Dr. Seuss and nursery rhymes seemed to sum it up for me. Writing poetry was far from enjoyable, because finding the rhymes were just too hard. As I got older, I realized that rhyming wasn't as important, but reading poetry was not an exciting activity because it involved figuring out a meaning that a teacher had pre-determined. Throughout the past year I have come to feel differently, realizing that there is no one way to read or write poetry. I find this book to perpetuate this feeling, as poems are written for a variety of reasons and in a variety of forms. I think that giving this book to students who are having difficulty with poetry could be inspiring. It could also be used for students who are going through difficult times, like Locomotion, as a form of therapy.

This book displayed so many incredible emotions through the eyes of a child. Emotions, I surely have never truly experienced. It was amazing how these were all portrayed through poetry, and it seems that the poems even made the reading a more emotional experience. I was immediately hooked, and trying to figure out what plagued the life of Lonnie. Through their brief introductions, I was able to learn an incredible amount about Miss Edna and Lili. I was visualizing them in my mind, this kind but tough older woman, and this timid little girl. While Lonnie's teacher is only described briefly, it is easy to deduce that she is one of his biggest cheerleaders, giving him the opportunity to express himself in a way he never thought possible. Despite all of his hardships, Lonnie is able to see the bright light in the future, through his poems.