OUT OF THE DUST

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of the Dust. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0590360809

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Karen Hesse has written a Newbery Medal award winning verse novel. Her protagonist, Billie Jo, faces many challenges. Verse by verse the words flow painstakingly into another describing the hardships, losses, and agony this child and her family face through the dust bowl region of Oklahoma. Billie Jo desires deeper communication with her mother. She longs for the ability to connect. Then a horrible accident occurs and her mother and newly born baby bother pass away. She then has to face the daily challenge of living with the consequences of their deaths. Billie Jo desires to grow closer to her father but her father is unable. They unfortunately have to lose each other to find each other again. Through her struggles she finds the strength to survive in what would otherwise be considered unendurable circumstances.

3. CRITICAL ANAYLSIS
Karen Hesses has achieved writing an award winning verse novel that eloquently shares the pain and suffering of one family during the dust bowl and depression era in Oklahoma. Her protagonist is a young girl who desires, as any little girl does, to be loved and accepted by her family. As you read each of Billie Jo's diary entries, the verses flow beautifully into each other yet tell deep stories of pain and regret. The language used in this story is indicative of country folk. For example, Billie Jo states: “I try my best to please ma.” As you read through her entries you begin to form a drawl in your voice that lets you know you’ve been submerged into their lives. The imagery is memorable. Billie Jo explains: “Daddy came in, he sat across from Ma and blew his nose. Mud streamed out. He coughed and spit out mud. If he had cried, his tears would have been mud too.” You feel the pain each time she describes what the dust has taken away from this family yet again. The emotions can be very painful in this book. Billie Jo’s life was one of struggle. She struggled for her mother’s affection, through the deaths in the family, with the pain of her injury, she struggles to connect with her dad, and inwardly she struggles with her stubbornness. Yet in the end, it was her stubborn spirit that leads her back home to her father. Hesse ends this verse novel with the understanding that life will continue to be rough for her characters but that they will survive. Karen Hesse was able to capture this rough existence and yet leave the reader with the knowledge that they too can face life’s challenges and keep breathing no matter how thick the air…keep breathing.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Newbery Medal
Scott O’Dell Award
ALA Notable Children’s Book
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Publishers Weekly: Hesse’s spare prose adroitly traces Billie Jo’s journey in and out of darkness…to hope.
School Library Journal: Hesse’s ever growing skill as a writer willing to take chances with her form shines through superbly…
Kirkus Review: The poem/novel ends with only a trace of hope; there are no pat endings, but a glimpse of beauty wrought from brutal reality.

5. CONNECTIONS
* Discuss and research the Dust Bowl Era.
*Have students then write a poem that depicts this era.
*Have students evaluate Billie Jo’s struggles. Are they similar to the struggles that children face today?
Other related books:
Booth, David. The Dust Bowl. ISBN 1550742957
Cooper, Michael. Dust to Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930’s. ISBN 0618154493
Stanley, Jerry. Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp. ISBN 0517880946
Other books by Karen Hesse:
Hesse, Karen. Witness. ISBN 0439272009
Hesse, Karen. Letters from Rifka. ISBN 0140363912
Hesse, Karen. The Music of Dolphins. ISBN 0590897985