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Out Of The Dust (Apple Signature Edition) (Paperback)
by Karen Hesse
| Category:
Family, Award-winning books, Ages 9-12, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 88.00
MSL price:
¥ 78.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Written in free verse, this award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great Depression, an unforgettable tribute to hope and inner strength. |
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Author: Karen Hesse
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Pub. in: January, 1999
ISBN: 0590371258
Pages: 240 pages
Measurements: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00059
Other information: Reprint edition
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- Awards & Credential -
The winner of 1998 Newbery Award |
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- MSL Picks -
Out of the Dust is wonderful, sad, and comedic all at the same time. Karen Hesse is a remarkable writer, especially in free verse poem style. Out of the Dust sounded like it was written during the Great Depression, when you’re reading the book you’ll feel you’re there; sharing the agony, sorrow, joy, bliss, everything there is to feel in this incredible novel.
Billie Jo Kelby, a long-legged, big cheek-boned, girl who loves apples and playing the piano faces an appalling accident in her family. Her life changes in the blink of an eye, making life seem unbearable and almost impossible to go on. On top of it all, Billie Jo has to face a horrible enemy; the dust that consumes her family and the whole towns lives. People never feel clean, wheat is impossible to grow (not to mention any other crop), cattle and livestock starve, and food is covered in dust.
After the accident people don't look at Billie Jo the same, some hardly recognize her after what happened. To make it worse her only passion, playing the piano (which she got from her mother), is lost because she can no longer play. All that is left is to hope for rain in the long, dry drought.
Just like today, teenagers back in the 1930's faced almost the same problems. They dealt with blame, "`An accident,' they said. Under there words a finger pointed." They dealt with drunken fathers, "They didn't say a word about my father drinking himself into a stupor..." and for all those lonely girls out there, "Darn that blue-eyed boy with his fine face and his smooth voice...." Even though people back in the 1930's talked differently and lived in a whole lot of dust, they still had some of the problems to face as we do now.
The lesson in hiding for Out of the Dust was to appreciate life (and everything good in it) and keep a hold of the things you keep dear. Most people know the saying "you don't know what you got `till it's gone," and it applies for this particular story.
Target readers:
Kids aged up 8
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Karen Hesse grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland. She loves writing for young readers and began her writing for young readers and began her writing life as a young poet. Out of the Dust is a return to her poetic roots.
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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. Those 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.
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Timothy Haugh (MSL quote), New York, NY United States
<2006-12-27 00:00>
Reading an award-winner is tricky business. This book won the Newbery Medal in 1998. I have read nearly all of the Newbery winners and my rule of thumb for these (unlike some other, less worthy prizes) is that you can expect to read a very good book. This one is no exception. Of course, not even Newbery winners are all created equal. Some are truly great and some are kind of average. This one falls in the middle of this range-let's call it the "not quite truly great" category.
Let me say first off that I personally found this to be a wonderful book. I think it is interesting and moving. Though not generally a fan of the free verse/prose poem style Hesse uses in this "novel," I found that her words generated an emotional response that straight prose might have lessened. I was also surprised by how detailed this world became for me while reading what is a very sparse book. This shows real talent and stylistic strength.
On the other hand, though I believe strongly that the best books for children and young adults are equally readable by adults, sometimes an author shoots a little high for the primary readership. Hesse's book is wonderful for adults but a little difficult for younger readers. I was able to let myself be carried away by the beauty of this book because I already have a strong sense about the Depression, life on a farm, the Dust Bowl. A child, however, will struggle with this book because, though strong on feeling, it's short on background.
This is not to say that this book is without merit even for younger readers. Its style and emotion are worth a read for anyone, particularly since it is short enough to be read in very little time. In combination with a more historically oriented book or other background on the Depression, a young reader could get even more from this book. Without this, though, many younger readers will struggle with this book.
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Theresa Lipka (MSL quote), North Carolina
<2006-12-27 00:00>
Amazing book, one of my favorites!
This book is beautifully written. I love how Hesse formats this book as a poem and as a journal. This work of historical fiction was told from a child's point of view, it is amazing to see Hesse's ability to transform her mind into that of a child's. Throughout her writing I was able to journey through young Billy Jo's life experiences with her. I felt hurt when she felt hurt, I felt hope when she felt hope.
Billie Jo lives with her mother and father in Oklahoma. Her dad wanted a boy, but he got her. Billie Jo loves to play the piano like her mother. Times are rough in Oklahoma because of the Dust Bowl. The family's income is dependent on the crops, but they can't grow any crops because it is too dry. Billie Jo experiences a terrible accident that changes her life forever. Her father put a bucket of Kerosene next to the stove. Billie Jo's mother mistakes it for water and uses it to make coffee. When her mother does this the bucket catches on fire and Billie Jo's mother runs outside to find the dad. Billie Jo is worried about that burning bucket in the dry kitchen so she grabs it and runs outside to throw it out; little did she know her mama was headed back to the house. Billie Jo threw the pale of kerosene and set her pregnant mother on fire. She rushed to her mother and hit the flames to try and smother the fire, not worrying about her hands while she swatted at the flames. Her mother and the baby died within the month and Billy Jo was overwhelmed with guilt. Her and her father never talked anymore and she couldn't play the piano anymore because her burnt hands hurt to bad. She eventually ran away from home because she couldn't take the guilt or the dust anymore. She came back after she realized what she really needed was the only family she had left, her father. When she returns home she and her father finally begin to talk like they haven't in ages. Her father eventually met another woman and Billie Jo liked her. Billie Jo even begins to play the piano again. She has overcome a lot of grief in the past year, and for once things are starting to go right again.
I definitely see why this book won the Newberry Medal. This book allows the reader to experience this tragic event in Billy Jo's life. As the reader I experienced the grief and guilt that Billy Jo had to endure. When the dust storms overwhelmed the farm she lived on I could vividly picture these events in my mind.
I would definitely recommend reading this book. It's one of the best books I have read in a long time!
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A kid (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-27 00:00>
This is a wonderful book and I would encourage anyone of any age to read it. It's about a girl named Billy Joe who plays piano and lives with her family during the "Dust Bowl". The dust is flying everywhere, the wheat won't grow, and they are living in a run down farm house. The only nice thing Billy Joe and her mom have is the piano. When Billy Joe is at the piano there is no dust, it's just her and the keys. The only problem is that she plays a very different tune then her mom. Her mom does not like that style of music and sometimes doesn't let her perform. That's okay to Billy Joe though, because she loves her mom more than anything else.
Billy Joe's dad is a quiet guy that is just trying to grow some wheat. But, because of the dust no wheat will grow. Then, to make matters worse, a horrible accident happens. Her dad had left a bucket of kerosene on the stove, which her mom mistook for water. When she begins making coffee with it the pot bursts into flames. Billy Joe's mom quickly runs out of the house screaming for help. Billy Joe throws the kerosene out of the back door and it lands directly onto her mom. This was a complete accident which results in both Billy Joe and her mom being badly burnt. It is a very sad story, but a really good book. I also like how the words are written like a poem. Every one should read this book!
I am an 11 year old boy that plays the guitar, piano and baseball, and I love to draw. I would also recommend The Giver, Number the Stars, and The Hatchet. |
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