Out of the Dust

Out of the Dust

By Karen Hesse

Published by Scholastic Inc. in 1997

Summary:

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is a book of poems that tells the story of a young girl named Billie Jo who is living in the dust bowl era in Oklahoma. She tells about her life where there are terrible dust blizzards that destroy crops and sometimes destroy families. One day, her mother as well as her new younger brother gets badly burned and they both die. Her father is devastated and won't dtalk to her about it and Billie Jo can hardly play the piano anymore that she so dearly loves, because they were burnt in the same fire that killed her mother. Billie Jo gets through these hard, miserable times but wishes more than anything that she could just leave, get away from all the sadness and drought and unhappiness because she can't play anymore and her mother is taken from her. But soon, she learns to play again and her hope returns to her.

Review:

I was very interested in this book. I learned so much about this dust bowl era. I didn't know anything about it until I read this. It was very interesting and had so much information but it went with a touching story as well. It was different to read a book in poems but I liked it. I loved the way it was written and the way that Billie Jo is, her character.

Cautionary Note:

There is death in this book.