Jacqueline Woodson

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.

A child and her grandmother feel sad when Grandpa dies, but as time passes, funny memories of him make them laugh and feel better.