Rating: 
(838 reviews)
Author: Karen Hesse
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Amazon.com
Like the Oklahoma dust bowl from which she came, 14-year-old narrator Billie Jo writes in sparse, free-floating verse. In this compelling, immediate journal, Billie Jo reveals the grim domestic realities of living during the years of constant dust storms: That hopes–like the crops–blow away in the night like skittering tumbleweeds. That trucks, tractors, even Billie Jo’s beloved piano, can suddenly be buried beneath drifts of dust. Perhaps swallowing all that grit is what gives Billie Jo–our strong, endearing, rough-cut heroine–the stoic courage to face the death of her mother after a hideous accident that also leaves her piano-playing hands in pain and permanently scarred.
Meanwhile, Billie Jo’s silent, windblown father is literally decaying with grief and skin cancer before her very eyes. When she decides to flee the lingering ghosts and dust of her homestead and jump a train west, she discovers a simple but profound truth about herself and her plight. There are no tight, sentimental endings here–just a steady ember of hope that brightens Karen Hesse’s exquisitely written and mournful tale. Hesse won the 1998 Newbery Award for this elegantly crafted, gut-wrenching novel, and her fans won’t want to miss The Music of Dolphins or Letters from Rifka. (Ages 9 and older) –Gail Hudson
Product Description
Out of the DustKaren Hesse (1998). “This intimate novel, written in stanza form, poetically conveys the heat, dust, and wind of Oklahoma along with the discontent of narrator Billie Jo… during the Depression.” -Publishers Weekly, starred review “A powerfully compelling tale.” -Booklist, starred review Grade Level: 3-6
5 Comments
This is one of the most powerful books written in quite some time for kids. It is not a happy book, but it holds so much hope, necessary for a piece written about the Great Depression, namely about those people stuck out in the Dust Bowl. The story is not written traditionally, but through a series of poems and journal entries hat take us through a section of life of a young girl and the personal tragedies and joys she experiences. I guarantee, it is a tissue book–while it’s too depressing for me, the kind that prefers something cheerful, many should appreciate the rough heart that the story puts out.
Out of Dust is a book every young reader in American needs to read. Written in poetry form, Karen Hesse’s book reveals the year long evolution of fourteen year old Billie Jo. Set in Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, the story exposes the raw emotions of a young girl as she struggles to survive the most haunting experience of her life. This story will help experienced young readers, ages 11-13, understand the complexity of life for children their own age during a historical era of our Nation’s history. Whereas most recollections of the Great Depression are depicted through adult views, Out of Dust is told through the eyes of Billie Jo which will allow children to make a connection between the issues of the time and the ones they are dealing with today. This beautifully written book is an excellent introduction to the Great Depression and offers multiple opportunities for exploration of the era.
I read this book for the first time this year and wondered why I didn’t have to read it in when I was in school. The main character Billi Jo has to over come a lot and does a wonderful job of it. This could teach so much to young readers. I strongly believe that this book be in the schools as a required read.
The first time I read this book was in fourth grade, and it has been a favorite ever since. Like previously stated, it is not the most uplifting of stories, but you can’t expect everything to be pleasant and delightful all the time. I honestly would reccommend this to someone of any age to read atleast once.
This book is well written, and the only book my 9 year old has ever asked for.