Bibliographic Information:
Hesse, K. (1997). Out of the dust. New York: Scholastic Press.
Readability Level: 5.1
Audience Level: Grades 6-8
Suggested Delivery: independent or group read
Summary: "This gripping story, written in sparse first-person, free-verse poems, is the compelling tale of Billie Jo's struggle to survive during the dust bowl years of the Depression. With stoic courage, she learns to cope with the loss of her mother and her grieving father's slow deterioration. There is hope at the end when Billie Jo's badly burned hands are healed, and she is able to play her beloved piano again. The 1998 Newbery Medal winner."
-Amazon.com
Hesse, K. (1997). Out of the dust. New York: Scholastic Press.
Readability Level: 5.1
Audience Level: Grades 6-8
Suggested Delivery: independent or group read
Summary: "This gripping story, written in sparse first-person, free-verse poems, is the compelling tale of Billie Jo's struggle to survive during the dust bowl years of the Depression. With stoic courage, she learns to cope with the loss of her mother and her grieving father's slow deterioration. There is hope at the end when Billie Jo's badly burned hands are healed, and she is able to play her beloved piano again. The 1998 Newbery Medal winner."
-Amazon.com
Curriculum Connections:
Taken from the Library of Congress
Taken from the Library of Congress
- After reading the novel, as a group examine the cover of Out of the Dust, noting the photograph of Lucille Burroughs. She was used to visually depict Hesse's character, Billy Jo. Discuss with students the possible origins of the photograph. Why was this photograph used? Do you agree that this was good choice for the book cover? Why or why not? After a brainstorming session, students can review the original image of Lucille Burroughs, daughter of a cotton sharecropper with its bibliographic record found in America from the Great Depression to World War II: Black-and-White Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1935-1945.
- Students use Voices from the Dust Bowl: the Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection, 1940-1941 to look for songs that Billy Jo may have played on her piano or that Mad Dog Craddock and the Black Mesa Boys may have sung. Which songs do you think are the most appropriate? Why?
- Students use American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers Project, 1936-1940 to compare the experiences of Billy Jo and her family to those in other parts of the nation during the Great Depression.
