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Summary: In the Dust of Appreciated Literature
Review: Out of the Dust is one of the most original books I have ever read. Karen Hesse illustrates life in the Dust Bowl in the 1930s splendidly and with the knowledge of the power of words. Unfortunately for Hesse, although her writing is very good, it seems many kids won't appreciate it to its fullest.
Set in the Oklahoma Panhandle, Billie Jo is a twelve-year-old girl with a passion for music and the face of her farmer father. The book is the story of Billie Jo and how the Great Depression affects her life. Written in poetic journal entries this book is very unique and a good read.
Although, with reality comes depression. Billie Jo lives a very difficult life and for those who like the upbeat books of Shel Silverstein, Out of the Dust is definitely in the dust for them. With her mother dead along with her baby brother, Billie Jo must fine common ground with her distant father.
Despite her living circumstances I find some kids may relate to Billie Jo and her many hardships. For those who have relationship problems with a parent, or a passion for just about anything, reading Out of the Dust, can be a reference for how to deal with your problem or persevere to do your best.
Not only is the book a lesson for life but a lesson of history. Hesse subtly teaches the reader about the 1930s, the president Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, the national problems of the Great Depression and its affect on Billie Jo's family and friends. The book is a lesson, not a lecture, and educational for any audience.
Not only is Out of the Dust a look into the past, it's a more positive way to look at the present. After reading Hesse's novel one better understands the value of life in the present (in comparison to the lives of millions during that period). Whether you are a fantasy or historical book buff, I think you'll find this book an excellent read and one of the more superior historical fiction novels. This novel is for those with a certain taste for literature. For me, it deserves its Newberry Medal and a round of applause.
Rating: 
Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: I have read Out of the Dust and I thought it was a very interesting book. This book had a lot of historical information. Out of the Dust was about a 13 year old girl named Billie Jo. Here family was surviving the dust bowl. Her hardest times in the book I think was when her mother died from the burns she got. Billie Jo had an extreamly hard life. Her dad blamed the accident that killed mama on her, so he didn't talk to her very much any more. She has to survive the hrroible dust storms almost everyday. Some of the storms fill houses with two feet of dust other storms runed cars an tractors because the engine got filled with dust. Pretty much every storm runed thier crops and made dunes like the dunes in deserts. I gave it five stars because I like how they combined the hitorical facts with the story and poems. I liked how the book was written that you could understand Billie jo's fellings. I would recomend this book to everyon and people who like to read and learn history at the same time.
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Summary: Out of The Dust by Karen Hesse
Review: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is a novel about the life of a 14 year old girl living in the 1930's in the state of Oklahoma. This novel tells about the hardships many people faced during the Dust Bowl, but one thing that makes this book different is the way it was written. Not only was this book written from the perspective of a adolescent it was also written in a series of free verse poems. By writting in free verse poems Hesse captured the interest of many because it gave them a new way to comprehend a book.
Out of the Dust was a very good book, but can be a bit depressing at times. The protagonist Billie Jo seems to lighten things up agian with her piano playing. Billie Jo has a very distant relationship with her father after the death of her mother, but they seem to draw closer to eachother after they learn to forgive the mistakes that they had made.
I would give Out of the Dust 4 out of 5 stars because the book was overall very interesting and captured my interest with Karen Hesse's vivd imagery and percise use of words. I gave the novel only 4 stars because I would find that the book would repeat itself and at other times would seem to make no sense at all.
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Summary: Out of the Dust review by Ryan M.
Review: I was fascinated by the well written free-verse poetry in the book Out of the Dust. I loved how Billie Jo Kelby held on against what happened in the accident, all the dust, and her hunger. She survived all the chllenges without giving up. This is the first free verse poetry book I've read and I love it. After the death of her mother, the only thing that remained from her mother was a piano. She loves playing the piano, but she can't with her burned hands. She must survive with her past. Her father won't talk to her and barely looks at her. She feels she must leave and get out of the dust and try a new life. She is on the train west when she realizes that her father is still back in Oklahoma in the dust. She gets on nother train and goes back. When she gets off the train she sees her father. This I liked because her father starts to be there for her, starts talking to her, but most importantly its forgivness between Billie Jo and her father. Karen Hesse mad this book sad, but at the same time you realize that it's reality and to be thankful your not in it. You see what these people went through just to survive their life and this time period. I love how Karen Hesse made this such an extrodinary book! I can't wait for another.
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Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: Out of the Dust Review "I don't know my father anymore. He sits across from me, He looks like my father, He chews his food like my father, He brushes his dusty hair back Like my father, But he is a stranger." (Hesse, 76) This is the first stanza to my favorite poem, " The Empty Spaces." In this poem the narrator, Billie Jo, explains how she and her father are gradually separating from each other because a terrible accident happened in their family. This amazing book written by Karen Hesse is a book of poems. It is about thirteen year old Billie Jo and her life during the Dust Bowl. Billie Jo has a powerful love for pianos and leaving the dust in Oklahoma. This marvelous book includes many examples of figurative language. My favorite simile is "The wind roared like fire," which refers to the blustery winds during another horrid dust storm. All of these poems have great depth and meaning. I would recommend this book to ages 10-14.
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Summary: A Very Good Story
Review: I think the book was good. It made me think about how tough it was living through dust storms and living without a mom and without a little brother. Living without a mom that teaches you piano lessons and having those lessons dissappear when she dies is really hard. So she's trying to move on and regain those lessons and memories.
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Summary: This book really stinks!
Review: The theme of this book is death. You meet someone, you like them, they either die or move to California. Sorry I ruined all the book talks about. This is the kind of book that kids hate, and yet teachers think they love. It is really depressing when everyone dies.
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Summary: Out of the Book Wonderful!
Review: The book called out of the dust is a great book! I loved how she explained what the land looked like and how the people relate to the weather when there were major dust storms. It was fun to learn about how a family interacted then and the dust. The girl did a great job explaining her life in detail but not making it to detailed to where it got very boring.
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Summary: Out of the Dust
Review: I thought that it was a very interesting book(in a good way), and I liked the way it was written -in free verse-, I have not ever seen that before. It was also very educational and I learned a lot about that time period and the Dust Bowl. For instance, I had no idea that the dust was in their food, and beds, and drinks, and mouths, or even in the buildings. Another thing was that this book, unlike many other historical-fiction books, was that it was not boring, it kept hold of my intrest constantly. Over all, I enjoyed this book, and I'm not just saying this, I mean it, I liked this book and would recommend it to anybody who needed a good one to read.(I only gave it 4 stars because nothing is perfect)
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Summary: book
Review: I was a good book in which exposed you to the harsh reality of the dust how often people died and how hard it was to keep on to hope even through severe hardships. I give it a 4 out of 5
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