by Karen Hesse
Review:This book is written in free verse and intended for kids in about fifth grade and up. I loved this format, which enabled me to finish this book in two sittings. Even though it was a fairly quick read, the novel has great depth and a strong sense of time and place. Its setting is Oklahoma during the thirties with entries dated from the winter of 1934 through the winter of 1935. It is a tragic tale about a young girl whose mother dies after an accident with burning kerosene and she blames herself and her father for her mother's death. Billie Jo is a talented pianist, but is reluctant to play after burns scar her hands. She leaves home, but soon learns how much "dust" is a part of her. I really want to use some of the excerpts from this story with my students during our short story unit. This year we will be reading Of Mice and Men and I think this story ties in nicely with the era. Hesse is amazingly poetic, so I highly recommend this to readers of all ages.
teacher websites:
www.carolhurst.com/titles/outofthedust.html
http://eduscapes.com/newbery/98a.html
