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

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: OUT OF THE DUST was a good book because it told how it was a hard time in the times of the dust. Billie Jo (the main character in the book) had a hard life. A lot of depessing things happend to her. And she loved playing the piano. She and her mom loved to play the piano together.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the Dust is packed with very useful information
Review: From the dust bowl, 14 year- old Billy Jo from Out of the Dust will astonish you with her life story. Through many hardships Billy Jo leads us through the dust bowl with superb detail. I in my opinion, gave the book five stars for excellence.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the Dust Review by:KLM
Review: A dark black cloud reels into sight, calm is its sound yet its demeanor is just the opposite. This is what I think of when the book Out of the Dust comes to mind. A great novel indeed, placed in the nineteen thirties,in the dust bowl of the United States. The air is clogged, the sky is a dismal,gray and everything from miles hundreds around is covered with a impure,gravelly substance...DUST! Not just part of the land was covered but every single thing there was covered with dust. Billie Jo, when setting the table would have to set the plates, bowls and glasses upside down as not to conceal them with dust. No wonder she wanted to get out, it was a repulsive place, the dust bowl. No trees, no grass, no water and worst of all, there was no where to plant their wheat, which was their only way to survive with the great depression going on. This book was very strong especially since the environment around them was one of the worst of all time.

Rating:
Summary: This book was about the Dust Bowl and families problems.
Review: The story includes many suspenseful and surprising events. One is when a girl named Billie Jo threw a bucket of kerosene at her mother. The story includes some predictable events. The climax changes the story in an unbelievable way because the Ma died with the baby, Franklin. There are a number of interesting and important events which lead to the ending. The ending was "a happily ever after," which was very unusual.

Rating:
Summary: Out of the Dust is emotional!
Review: Out of the Dust was an excellent book because it was well written in a unique format. This is a book for teenagers because they can relate to the problems that Billie Jo was going through. Billie Jo faced tragedy but didn't let it overcome her. Since it took place in the dust bowl (1930s) she had more worries than she reckoned for. This review was written by two seventh graders in Tallahassee, Florida. If you read this book we hope you see why it is emotional.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully written!
Review: Billie Jo experienced many suspensful and surprising events during her life time! Sometimes it was very confusing and hard for her. For one thing she killed her mother, and she can't do much with her hands because of the kerosene. The dust storms they have are unbearable, and without her mother she is lonely! The ending of Out of the Dust is unbelieveable! I didn't expect Billie Jo's father to fall in love with another woman. Overall this book was great!!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read!
Review: Out of the Dust is written extremely creativly, through poetry. It tells all about the adventures and tragedies of a twelve year-old girl, living in Oklahoma in the Dust bowl. It has short chapters and even if you do not like reading this book is still for you. It kept my attention and it will certianly keep yours!

Rating:
Summary: This book was about the Dust Bowl and families troubles.
Review: The story includes many suspenseful and surprising events. One is when a girl named Billie Jo threw a firey bucket of kerosene at her mother. The story includes some predictable events. The climax changes the story in an unbelievable way because the Ma died with the baby, Franklin. There are a number of interesting and important events which lead to the ending. The ending was a "happily ever after," which was very unusual.

Rating:
Summary: Butifully told!
Review: Karen Hesse brought a lovely and sweet story out of a place as bleak and sad as the dust bowl! Out of the Dust is so very original! after an awful accident chances Billie Jo's life you don't know what happens next! it is a wonderful story! I think you will like Out of the Dust! I did!

Rating:
Summary: A sad but wonderful story of a family's trials and hopes.
Review: Out of the Dust is a sad story of hope and pride. This wonderful book is a gathering of journal entries from the point of view of a young girl named Billie Jo while growing up during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma. Her family tries to grow wheat, which is often destroyed by wind, lack of rain, and dust. Dust storms fill the peoples' homes, as well as eyes, ears, noses, and mouths - Billie Jo sets the table with the dishes upside down to keep the dust off them! The family barely gets by with a lot of hard work and determination. Billie Jo's mother dies in childbirth from injuries from an accident, which also hurts Billie Jo's hands. The mother's death was devastating, and because of Billie Jo's hands, she couldn't play the piano, her only comfort. Her father was stubborn and difficult, so there were some very tough years. Many others have moved on to California or elsewhere, but through hope, pride, and love, this family makes it through.