 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Out of the Dust
- By Karen Hesse
- Genre: Historical Fiction
Common Sense Media says
A penetrating look at a poor child's life.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this powerful and poignant tale set amid Oklahoma's "Dust Bowl" years is told entirely in free verse, which might pose a challenge for some readers. And although the writing is exceptional, the subject matter is relentlessly bleak; the book's joylessness might limit its appeal to young readers.
What's the story?
A penetrating, gut-wrenching look at the seasons of discontent in Billie Jo's year, growing up in the wind, dust, drought, and heat of Dust Bowl-era Oklahoma. Billie Jo's is a faraway voice with immediate appeal in this foreboding, clenched fist of a novel. An umbrella of emotion weighs heavily over each sad event, true to the austere historical setting.
Is it any good?
Billie Jo narrates, in unfolding glimpses of story, a tale of death, destruction, dust, and the search for redemption that's written in the first-person, poetic, stanza form of Virginia Euwer Wolff's Make Lemonade. She describes her desolate internal and external landscape with a searing, brutal honesty. With uncompromising realism, the author shows life in the Dust Bowl taking one sad turn after another for this "redheaded, freckle-faced, narrow-hipped girl with a fondness for apples and a hunger for playing fierce piano."
The increasingly doleful progression of events hammers at the reader, nearly overwhelming the faint light of hope that appears at last in the form of a journey, a surrogate mother, and the promise of music that comes from the healing of Billie Jo's hands as well as heart.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the Dust Bowl in a historical context, focusing on the effect the severe storms had on the livelihood of working families. If you and your family were faced with the same conditions, do you think you could survive? Did hardship bring Billie Jo's family closer together -- or tear them farther apart? How did Billie Jo's relationship with her father change in the wake of her mother's death?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
made my class sick
this is not a good book. not for young children!
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
91/2+
I loved this book, it was great. But it has a difficult story to tell. It is most because it is in the time of the great depuration and the dust bowl. I loved this story and it is a great story for anyone that loves historical fiction and over the ages of 9 1/2+. Remember that it has a difficult story to tell and a little violence. Do not let children under 7 read this story it is not the best for them.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
My oppion on to recimend this book for your son or daughter
i think that it was an ok, it is really weird and you need to really read it to get it and if u like a book about a girl and what she goes through and her feelings, then you will really enjoy this book. My Summary: It is about Billie Jo and how her life takes a toll when her best friend moves away and her mom dies, from the birth of her little brother Franklin. And her dad is to blame for the fire that burned her mother also nearly killing her. You see Billie Jo loves to play piano and when her mother dies, her depression makes that hard. I thought her life couldnt get any worse, but it does, her dad gets cancer and is dying. Billie Jo' solusion was to run away because her dad no longer talked or looked at her. When she on the train west, she meets a nice man who is running away also because he cant feed his family. When Billie Jo takes a nap and wakes up her food is gone but a picture of his family is under her. She then relizes that she cant leave her dad, so goes back... you will have to read what happens next. I think that i would recamend this book for your child because i actually learned from it, i learned that you cant run away from your life u can only try to make it better, so yes i would have your child read this!!! :) but this is the only down sider, it is kind of violent and some things are bad role models but you do learn from their mistakes and you learn not to do those things.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Makes Where the Red Fern Grows feel like a comedy
Nothing wrong with it when it appropriatness-wise, besides a WOMAN CAUGHT ON FIRE. Okay, that's out of the way. Everything wrong with it story-wise, entertainment-wise, and readability-wise. It bored me to tears, except in the graphic burning part, where I cried for eternity. The poems are hard to understand, and her plight never feels horrible, considering that I hate piano with my heart and soul. The ending feels wrong, as does this book as a whole. I hate it hate it hate it. Ranks up there with Ender's Game and Christmas Carol on overatedness. Avoid at all costs.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
What's Great?........ This book
I loved all the drama in this book I think it really explains what it would be like back in that time. I though there was alot of drama in the book.I think the Dad of Billie Joe is the one who creats the most drama well he is drinking after the mother and son died. I feel that towns people also blame Billie Joe for poring the oil on the mother when she made a simple mistake. I was sad when Billie Joe ran away but somehow I knew she was going to go back because she couldn't just leave her fater there by himself. In the end everything turns out ok and that's what make's this book so speacial to me I mean that's why I read it every year now.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
I Loved This!!!
I don't understand why people did not enjoy this book because it had to be one of the best books I have ever read! The author's technique was very attractive, easy to read, and unique. I cannot wait to read another book by Karen Hesse.
Was this review useful?
|
|
Kid, 12 years old
May 17, 2011
AGE
i loved this book because it tells a good story about the dust storms. also it has an accent that makes the book sound more realistic. i also liked that it was very discriptive on what was happening during dust storms and how hard it was to live in the dust book. i really liked the lined that billy jo used alot "i want to get out, out of the dust."
Was this review useful?
|
|
| Author: | Karen Hesse |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Historical Fiction |
| Publisher: | Scholastic Inc. |
| Publication date: | January 1, 1997 |
| Number of pages: | 227 |
| Paperback price: | $4.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
Review It
Register now to save reviews and advice articles to your personal lists!
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
Already read it? What do you think?
More from Common Sense Media
Top advice and articles
