The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
LS5603.20, Genre 3—poetry.
1. Bibliography
Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN 0-590-37125-8
2. Plot Summary
Out of the Dust is the story of two years in the life of a 14-year-old girl
named Billie Jo living in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. In addition to
the hardships of the Dust Bowl and the Depression, Billie Jo must
LS5603.20, Genre 3—poetry.
1. Bibliography
Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN 0-590-37125-8
2. Plot Summary
Out of the Dust is the story of two years in the life of a 14-year-old girl
named Billie Jo living in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. In addition to
the hardships of the Dust Bowl and the Depression, Billie Jo must
endure the pain of a fiery accident that kills her mother and leaves her
hands badly injured. The injury to her hands is an especially cruel blow
because she is a gifted pianist. The book describes Billie Jo’s struggles
against the dust and the Depression, against her mother and father,
against her injuries and the loss of her mother, and against herself. As
she matures, she begins to understand that hard times are more about
losing hope and giving up on dreams than about money or hardship. At
the end of the book, Billie Jo realizes that her struggles have made her
what she is and that what she is is good enough.
3. Critical Review
Out of the Dust is a beautifully written book and a winner of several major awards, including the Newbery Medal, the Scott O’Dell Award, School Library Journal Book of the Year, and ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The story about Billie Jo’s struggles during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s is very believable because of the detail presented in the story. Karen Hesse doesn’t just say that the dust blew. She describes turning the plates and glasses on the kitchen table over until dinner is ready and then picking them up to see the circles left in the dust. She talks about coughing up mud and about dust blowing in like a prairie
fire, turning midday to midnight.
Out of the Dust is filled with examples of effective use of imagery and figurative language. When Billie Jo sees her pregnant mother standing in the rain, she describes her as “round and ripe and striped like a melon.” She says that a great-uncle is “old as ancient Indian bones, and mean as a rattler.” When she is angry at her mother, she glares at her“with a scowl foul as maggoty stew.” When she is hungry, she says that her stomach “grizzled.” On almost every page there is imagery that appeals to the senses so that the reader can see and smell and taste and feel the dust.
Karen Hesse has chosen to write Out of the Dust in blank verse. The
poems do not rhyme and have lines of varying lengths, which is very
effective for the story she is telling. When asked why she sometimes
chooses to use blank verse and tell her stories with so few words, Hesse answered, “Anything that doesn’t move the story forward, anything that doesn’t contribute to the reader’s understanding of the character does not belong no matter how juicy the tidbit, how beautiful the writing.” (http://www.karenbeil.com/hesse-interview.html) In writing Out of the Dust, Hesse chose her tidbits well and left in plenty of beautiful writing. This book meets the definition of poetry as experience distilled.
Karen Hesse says that reading historical fiction is valuable because it
“gives us perspective . . . It gives us a safe place in which we can grow, transform, transcend. It helps us understand that sometimes the questions are too hard, that sometimes there are no answers, that sometimes there is only forgiveness” (Karen Beil interview). She has fulfilled that objective with Out of the Dust.
4. Review Excerpts
Booklist: “The story is bleak, but Hesse’s writing transcends the
gloom and transforms it into a powerfully compelling tale of a girl
with enormous strength, courage, and love....blank verse [is] a superb
choice for bringing out the exquisite agony and delight to be found in
such a difficult period lived by such a vibrant character. It also spares
the reader the trouble of wading through pages of distressing text,
distilling all the experiences into brief, acutely observed phrases.
This is an excellent book for discussion,and many of the poems stand
alone sufficiently to be used as powerful supplements to a history
lesson." (Reviewed October 1, 1997)— Susan Lempke
Amazon.com: “Hesse won the 1998 Newbery Award for this elegantly
crafted, gut-wrenching novel….”--Gail Hudson
Publisher’s Weekly: "This intimate novel, written in stanza form,
poetically conveys the heat, dust and wind of Oklahoma. With each
meticulously arranged entry Hesse paints a vivid picture of her
heroine's emotions."
5. Connections
Out of the Dust would be an excellent addition to a unit of study on
the Dust Bowl. It would add vivid and personal details that would
make history come alive for students.
Students could use a map to trace different routes that people might
have taken from Oklahoma to California.
Any of the poems in Out of the Dust would be easily and effectively
presented as reader’s theater.
Other books about the Dust Bowl:
● Treasures in the Dust by Tracy Porter. ISBN 978-0-064-40770-0
● Children of the Dust Bowl: True Stories of the School at Weedpatch
Camp by Jerry Stanley. ISBN 978-0-517-88094-4
● Dust to Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930s by Michael L. Cooper.
ISBN 978-0-618-15449-4
● Dust for Dinner by Ann Turner. ISBN 978-0-064-44225-1
●The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck ISBN 978-0-679-42040-8
because she is a gifted pianist. The book describes Billie Jo’s struggles
against the dust and the Depression, against her mother and father,
against her injuries and the loss of her mother, and against herself. As
she matures, she begins to understand that hard times are more about
losing hope and giving up on dreams than about money or hardship. At
the end of the book, Billie Jo realizes that her struggles have made her
what she is and that what she is is good enough.
3. Critical Review
Out of the Dust is a beautifully written book and a winner of several major awards, including the Newbery Medal, the Scott O’Dell Award, School Library Journal Book of the Year, and ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The story about Billie Jo’s struggles during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s is very believable because of the detail presented in the story. Karen Hesse doesn’t just say that the dust blew. She describes turning the plates and glasses on the kitchen table over until dinner is ready and then picking them up to see the circles left in the dust. She talks about coughing up mud and about dust blowing in like a prairie
fire, turning midday to midnight.
Out of the Dust is filled with examples of effective use of imagery and figurative language. When Billie Jo sees her pregnant mother standing in the rain, she describes her as “round and ripe and striped like a melon.” She says that a great-uncle is “old as ancient Indian bones, and mean as a rattler.” When she is angry at her mother, she glares at her“with a scowl foul as maggoty stew.” When she is hungry, she says that her stomach “grizzled.” On almost every page there is imagery that appeals to the senses so that the reader can see and smell and taste and feel the dust.
Karen Hesse has chosen to write Out of the Dust in blank verse. The
poems do not rhyme and have lines of varying lengths, which is very
effective for the story she is telling. When asked why she sometimes
chooses to use blank verse and tell her stories with so few words, Hesse answered, “Anything that doesn’t move the story forward, anything that doesn’t contribute to the reader’s understanding of the character does not belong no matter how juicy the tidbit, how beautiful the writing.” (http://www.karenbeil.com/hesse-interview.html) In writing Out of the Dust, Hesse chose her tidbits well and left in plenty of beautiful writing. This book meets the definition of poetry as experience distilled.
Karen Hesse says that reading historical fiction is valuable because it
“gives us perspective . . . It gives us a safe place in which we can grow, transform, transcend. It helps us understand that sometimes the questions are too hard, that sometimes there are no answers, that sometimes there is only forgiveness” (Karen Beil interview). She has fulfilled that objective with Out of the Dust.
4. Review Excerpts
Booklist: “The story is bleak, but Hesse’s writing transcends the
gloom and transforms it into a powerfully compelling tale of a girl
with enormous strength, courage, and love....blank verse [is] a superb
choice for bringing out the exquisite agony and delight to be found in
such a difficult period lived by such a vibrant character. It also spares
the reader the trouble of wading through pages of distressing text,
distilling all the experiences into brief, acutely observed phrases.
This is an excellent book for discussion,and many of the poems stand
alone sufficiently to be used as powerful supplements to a history
lesson." (Reviewed October 1, 1997)— Susan Lempke
Amazon.com: “Hesse won the 1998 Newbery Award for this elegantly
crafted, gut-wrenching novel….”--Gail Hudson
Publisher’s Weekly: "This intimate novel, written in stanza form,
poetically conveys the heat, dust and wind of Oklahoma. With each
meticulously arranged entry Hesse paints a vivid picture of her
heroine's emotions."
5. Connections
Out of the Dust would be an excellent addition to a unit of study on
the Dust Bowl. It would add vivid and personal details that would
make history come alive for students.
Students could use a map to trace different routes that people might
have taken from Oklahoma to California.
Any of the poems in Out of the Dust would be easily and effectively
presented as reader’s theater.
Other books about the Dust Bowl:
● Treasures in the Dust by Tracy Porter. ISBN 978-0-064-40770-0
● Children of the Dust Bowl: True Stories of the School at Weedpatch
Camp by Jerry Stanley. ISBN 978-0-517-88094-4
● Dust to Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930s by Michael L. Cooper.
ISBN 978-0-618-15449-4
● Dust for Dinner by Ann Turner. ISBN 978-0-064-44225-1
●The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck ISBN 978-0-679-42040-8
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