1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0590360809
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Fourteen-year-old Billie Jo Kelby knows what it is like to live in the despair of the Oklahoma dust bowl of the mid-1930s. The crops have died and blown away. The land is barren. And the wind blows and blows, bringing with it the inescapable dust that settles into every crevice and on every surface. Yet her little family still seems to find some joy - the sweet music that Billie Jo and her mother are able to coax from their beautiful piano; the apple trees that bloom in spite of the loss of all other vegetation; the perpetual optimism that things will be better soon. Then a terrible tragedy takes her mother and baby brother with it, and life seems unbearable. When Billie Jo leaves Oklahoma to find a better life out of the dust, she realizes that her life is more firmly rooted in the strength of her father than she had realized, and “what I am, / I am because of the dust. / And what I am is good enough. / Even for me.”
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Out of the Dust is written in free verse that helps create the melancholy tone of the story. The narrative is moved forward by separate poems, each with a title, that describe events in the life of Billie Jo and her family. The date at the end of each poem also gives the story the feel of a diary as we see the tragedy of the dust bowl through young Billie Jo’s eyes. The poetry creates haunting images that stay with the reader long after the story is over. Children who read the book can gain an appreciation of the hardness of this time that coupled the Great Depression with the drought that created the dust bowl in the central United States. Through the imagery of the poetry, the reader can almost feel the dust coating the bedsheets, taste the grit of the dirt in the milk, and see the black clouds moving in as the next dust storm approaches. The emotional impact is genuine and strong. The description of the accident that claims the life of Billie Jo’s mother and baby brother is short, yet powerful, and it’s impact on Billie Jo and her father is felt throughout the rest of the story. With regard to the plot structure, there doesn’t seem to be a clear climax to the story, but there are many images that will haunt long after the novel is complete.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Publishers Weekly: “Readers may find their own feelings swaying in beat witht the heroine’s shifting moods as she approaches her coming-of-age and a state of self-acceptance.”
*Horn Book: “Filled with memorable images—such as Billie Jo's glimpse of her pregnant mother bathing outdoors in a drizzle—the spare verses showcase the poetry of everyday language . . . .”
*School Library Journal: “Hesse's ever-growing skill as a writer willing to take chances with her form shines through superbly in her ability to take historical facts and weave them into the fictional story of a character young people will readily embrace.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*This book is a good candidate for performing in a Readers’ Theater. Have students create scripts from their favorite passages.
*Social studies teachers may find this novel useful as a supplemental piece for their students when studying about the Depression. Seeing this period of time through the eyes of someone close to their own age could help this period of U.S. history come alive as well as helping children sympathize with the difficulties families faced.
*Compare this novel to one that is told in diary format, such as Ann M. Martin’s Sunny in her California Diaries Series. How is Out of the Dust similar? different? As students write a personal narrative, have them try doing it in diary or free verse style.
Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0590360809
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Fourteen-year-old Billie Jo Kelby knows what it is like to live in the despair of the Oklahoma dust bowl of the mid-1930s. The crops have died and blown away. The land is barren. And the wind blows and blows, bringing with it the inescapable dust that settles into every crevice and on every surface. Yet her little family still seems to find some joy - the sweet music that Billie Jo and her mother are able to coax from their beautiful piano; the apple trees that bloom in spite of the loss of all other vegetation; the perpetual optimism that things will be better soon. Then a terrible tragedy takes her mother and baby brother with it, and life seems unbearable. When Billie Jo leaves Oklahoma to find a better life out of the dust, she realizes that her life is more firmly rooted in the strength of her father than she had realized, and “what I am, / I am because of the dust. / And what I am is good enough. / Even for me.”
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Out of the Dust is written in free verse that helps create the melancholy tone of the story. The narrative is moved forward by separate poems, each with a title, that describe events in the life of Billie Jo and her family. The date at the end of each poem also gives the story the feel of a diary as we see the tragedy of the dust bowl through young Billie Jo’s eyes. The poetry creates haunting images that stay with the reader long after the story is over. Children who read the book can gain an appreciation of the hardness of this time that coupled the Great Depression with the drought that created the dust bowl in the central United States. Through the imagery of the poetry, the reader can almost feel the dust coating the bedsheets, taste the grit of the dirt in the milk, and see the black clouds moving in as the next dust storm approaches. The emotional impact is genuine and strong. The description of the accident that claims the life of Billie Jo’s mother and baby brother is short, yet powerful, and it’s impact on Billie Jo and her father is felt throughout the rest of the story. With regard to the plot structure, there doesn’t seem to be a clear climax to the story, but there are many images that will haunt long after the novel is complete.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Publishers Weekly: “Readers may find their own feelings swaying in beat witht the heroine’s shifting moods as she approaches her coming-of-age and a state of self-acceptance.”
*Horn Book: “Filled with memorable images—such as Billie Jo's glimpse of her pregnant mother bathing outdoors in a drizzle—the spare verses showcase the poetry of everyday language . . . .”
*School Library Journal: “Hesse's ever-growing skill as a writer willing to take chances with her form shines through superbly in her ability to take historical facts and weave them into the fictional story of a character young people will readily embrace.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*This book is a good candidate for performing in a Readers’ Theater. Have students create scripts from their favorite passages.
*Social studies teachers may find this novel useful as a supplemental piece for their students when studying about the Depression. Seeing this period of time through the eyes of someone close to their own age could help this period of U.S. history come alive as well as helping children sympathize with the difficulties families faced.
*Compare this novel to one that is told in diary format, such as Ann M. Martin’s Sunny in her California Diaries Series. How is Out of the Dust similar? different? As students write a personal narrative, have them try doing it in diary or free verse style.
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