"Out of the Dust"

Now for a post about my book on girls, "Out of the Dust," by Karen Hesse. Published in 1997 and a Newberry Award winner and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. A wonderful aspiring story for young girls. Billie Joe faces many hardships as a fourteen-year-old in 1934 Oklahoma during the dust bowls. Her family, Ma, pregnant with her little brother, and Pa are poor farmers struggling to survive the dust. Billie Joe wishes to escape the dust and leave Oklahoma, she finds solace and happiness in her piano. When a terrible kerosene accident badly burns her hands she can no longer play. Her mother, also burned in the fire, dies giving birth and Billie Joe is left alone on the farm with her father, who distances himself from her.

Told in free verse poetry by the main character, Billie Joe, it's a story about a teen who faces many hardships, but shows great courage, strength and determination. The story is in first person narrative written in free verse poetry. The poetry is very conversational and flows easily for the young reader. It reads quickly. The imaginary is fantastic, and I think it will really draw young adults into the plot. The author makes so many comparisons and displays wonderful uses of similes and personifications. It would be a great lesson to have students pick some out throughout the book. I marked more than twenty, easily. Some of my favorites are:Billie Joe talks about the way her Ma looks at her "she makes me feel like she's just taking me in like I was so much flannel on the line," p. 30. "hopes rises daily like sap on a stem," p. 59. "Ma was like the tumbleweed holding on for as long as she could, then blowing away with the wind," p. 202. "My father was more like the sod. Steady, silent, deep, Holding on to life," p. 202. Me I'm "like the wheat. I can't grow everywhere. But I can grow here with a little rain, a little care, a little luck," p. 205. The book is a great way to talk about and have students actually work with poetry. Each chapter of the book is a poem, and I was thinking about two of the poems in particular and how they would work nicely as assignments. Having student's mirror what they main character does, in order to write a poem about themselves.

I think this book is very teachable. There's so much you can do with it. Have any of you or do you teach it? As a historical piece of fiction, you could do a lot with history behind the book; centered around the Oklahoma Dust Bowl and in the time of the Depression. The main character is the age of most of today's teens, great-grandparents. I think it's always nice to use historical based stories to help students understand how people lived in the past. The setting of this book is a great point for discussion and there's so much to explore from there. Possibly researching this time period further through old newspaper articles...

Although we've talked a lot about books that show negative adult role models, and absent parents, this books involves the parents and the family structure heavily. Although, Billie Joe isn't always happy with her parents, she always searches for their love and a connection to her family. She admires the way her mother plays the piano, and while she is annoyed by the importance her mother places on school, and believes her mother is jealous of her piano playing; she misses her terribly after she dies. The absence of a mother in this book, shows the need for that nurturing mother from a female, young adult's perspective. Her relationship with her Pa is very important, also showing the need girls have for a strong male role model. Billie Joe blames Pa for her mother's death, the death of her baby brother, and for her burned hands. She looks to him for comfort, but he pushes her away with his silence. The bitterness she has for her father and for the loss of the use of her hands, forces her to run away.

Billie Joe is a very developed, young character. By the end of the book, she has faced more than most people in this day have faced in a lifetime. She learns that while she wanted to escape the dust, it made her who she is. This is a big life lesson, and huge for a teen. She develops a good relationship with her father, and learns the importance of family. If you compare Billie Joe, to some of the girl characters in the young adult chick-lit the difference is astounding. What a great role model she provides to female students!

See you Tuesday,
Staci