Literature Guide: Out of the Dust (Grades 4-8)

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Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: Out of the Dust was an exteremly good book. It was about a 13 year old girl who went through a tremendous amount of pain. Billie Jo's mother dies from just a big accident. Billie places the blame squarely upon her own shoulders. Billie Jo was also in the accident and has become scarred for life. She is unable to do the only thing she truly loved doing, playing the piano. Even after she has healed from the accident she just is hurt too much my the memory of her mother to even try to start over. Billie also feels as if she has been left alone by her father because she doesn't think he cares for her. This book is a powerful story of a girl who uses her strength, courage, and love to overcome all obstacles in her way.

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Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: Out of the Dust is a very good book. She lives with her mother and father in the Oaklahoma Panhandle. It is writen in the form of poetry which makes it easy to read and unique. It is the story of a girl named Billie Jo Kelby and her life in the Dust Bowl. Billie Jo has to face some very hard times in her life. The only thing that helps her get through these problems is her piano. I would rate this a 8 out of 10.

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Summary: Escape the Dust
Review: I thought the book Out of the Dust was sad but good to read. Karen Hesse did a great job on explaining how the pleases lives were like. she put alot of descriptive info in her writing. Some parts of the story felt like I was in the story. Most of the time I like reading about a historical books an event that happened. I gave a ten because I really got into the book. I felt sad when Billie Jo's Ma and little brother died. That was the worst part ever. I wonder what my life would have been like if I lived when that happened. I wonder what Billie Jo felt like when the dust stopped. This book showed me that life can be wrecked by horrible events. But these events could bring people closer to each other.

Rating:
Summary: Out Of the Dust
Review: Out of the Dust is about a 14 year old girl who lives with her ma and pa. Her name is Billie Jo. She lives in the Panhandle of Oklahoma. Her ma gets pregnet. There was an accident. She has the baby, and it was a boy. A few hours later her ma died. Before Billie Jo's ma died they named the baby Franklin. The baby died later on that night, so they buried baby Franklin with Billie Jos ma together. Billie Jo's father went out drinking with the emergency money. Aftr that night, he decised to go to night school. The only reason he wants to go to night school is for a new wife. I gave this book 4 stars, because it teaches people about the Dust Bowl. I learned about the dust storms that happenedin the Panhandle. You will have to read the rest to see what happens.

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Summary: The Dustbowl
Review: I liked this book very much. I rated it 4 stars because it was very good. It kept me interested while I was reading. I liked how realistic this book was. I learned a lot about Oklahoma and what it is like to live in a Dust Bowl. I know that I wouldn't want to live there. It was such a sad book, however. It made me really feel bad when Billy Jo lost her mom and her little brother and was so very lonely. I wished it could have been a little more happier than it was. It did have a very good ending though with her father coming around and showing her how much he loved her and him getting remarried. I would suggest to any of my friends to read this book because I know that they would love it. I really learned a lot while reading this story written by Karen Hesse.

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Summary: Life in Oklahoma
Review: Out of the Dust written by Karen Hesse is one of the best books that I have ever read. It keeps your interest throughout the book. It is very sad in some chapters. This book is a true story and it really depicts life in Oklahoma. It explains how life would be to live in a dust bowl. I rate this book five stars because it is such an interesting book and it really explains Billy Jo's life almost as if I was there. It makes me feel like I am part of her life and living right there in Oklahoma.

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Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: The book Out of the Dust had a great story line that always kept you coming back to the book. I didn't like however, that the author put in these characters and told you some of what happened to them but not the whole thing.For example when Mad dog sang on the radio they never said if he became famous or if he just ended up livin there.I did though really like the way she put in so much detail without making it stand out. Karen Hesse used poetry in just the right way to keep you interested but not bored. Overall this was a great book and i would definately read it again.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: I honestly thought that Out of The Dust was an o.k. book. I most definitely was not one of my favorites. I liked the content and the plot of the book but I really didn't like the way that the information was presented. I would rate this book 6 out of 10 because some times the content got a little boring and also like I said before I didn't like how it was all poems and in that format. Other than those few things I thought it was a good book.

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Summary: My Review of Out of the Dust
Review: Billie Jo, the 13 year old narrator of the story, tells of her life in the Oklahoma panhandle during the mid 1930's. She lives with her mother and father, has a hunger for playing fierce piano and a fondness for apples. Billie Jo has to face all the problems that came with living in the Dust Bowl, but to make things worse, a terrible accident has changed her life forever. Her mother has passed away and Billie Jo and her father are going through tough times. I gave Out of the Dust 4 out of 5 stars. I thought that is was very interesting that Karen Hesse could tell the entire story in free verse poems. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about historical events or wants to learn more about the Dust Bowl.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: It is in the 1930's and ferocious dust storms sweep away all topsoil leaving southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, eastern New Mexico and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma soil less. The Dust Bowl forced an exhausting drought onto the land, making farmers desperate for rain through out the harsh ten years it dragged on. Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust describes the brutal dust storms and the life of thirteen-year-old Billie Jo Kelby, a girl from the Oklahoma panhandle, in an exciting; captivating book that helps you learn about the Dust Bowl while still enjoying the excitement of a fictional storyline. In rating the book on a scale of one to ten, I would rate the book an eight because of the poetic form the book was written in and because of the interesting story line behind it all. Out of the Dust was an exciting book to read and an interesting link to the historical facts of the Dust Bowl.