Search advanced search
 
Books
Search:
x dismiss this message

Did you know you can edit this page?

Out of the Dust
  • Rated 0 stars
Read Out of the Dust

Out of the Dust (1997) (edit title/settings)

by Karen Hesse (Author) (edit contributors)

Share this book on:
see page history

Description edit see section history

When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it is inspiring. Written in free verse, this award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great... read more

Summary edit see section history

Caught in the middle of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, all Billie Jo Kelby, a fourteen-year-old girl, wants to do is get out of the dust. She is a sassy redhead who loves apples and has a strong hunger for playing fierce piano. When her father puts a pail of kerosene next to the stove and her... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Caught in the middle of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, all Billie Jo Kelby, a fourteen-year-old girl, wants to do is get out of the dust. She is a sassy redhead who loves apples and has a strong hunger for playing fierce piano. When her father puts a pail of kerosene next to the stove and her pregnant mother thinks it is water, she pours it into the coffee pot to make Daddy coffee, but a burst of flames comes back out at her, and she runs outside to get help. Billie Jo pours the kerosene out into the yard, but she doesn't se Mama coming back, and she burns her mother all over her body. Billie Jo's hands got burned badly, so she couldn't play piano without it hurting, but the burns for her mother and her unborn baby brother were fatal. Mama died when giving birth to her first son, Franklin, named after FDR, and the baby boy died soon after coming into the world. At this point, Billie Jo feels excruciating pain in her heart. Her relationship with her father is crumbling down and blowing away with all of the dust that's around her. She aches for her mother, because Mama always knew the right thing to say, but nothing can be done now. She dreams of playing the piano again, but is afraid because of the scars and scabs on her hands. When the world is so dry it starts going up in flames, Billie Jo can't stand it anymore. She sneaks out of her house in the middle of the night and gets on the next train out of the dust. On the train, she meets a man who changed her life. He was covered in dust, he needed a shave and a haircut, and the shirt on his back was dirty and ripped. But, he told her the story of his family, and how he had to leave them because he couldn't feed his children. Billie Jo decided to head back to Oklahoma, because she couldn't find anything more wonderful than what she had there: a home. When she got back, things began to clear up between her and Daddy. They talked again, and she met the woman Daddy met while she was gone. Her name was Louise, and she was a perfect fit for their family. In the end, even though Billie Jo didn't get out of the dust, she started to play fierce piano again, and to her, that was just as good.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Billie Jo Kelby: Main character, young girl living in Oklahoma. loves playing the piano
  • Bayard Kelby: He is Billie Jo's father.
  • Polly Kelby: Billie Jo's mother
  • Livie Killian: Billie Jo's best friend who left Oklahoma for better prospects in California.
  • Louise: The teacher at night school.
  • Franklin: Billie Jo's little brother.
  • Mr. Hardly: The rude and mean store keeper
  • Miss Freeland: The school teacher
  • Billie jo: Billie jo is a country girl, loves the piano. She tries to help but when she does she causes trouble.
  • Vera: Vera Wanderdale is Arley's wife. She is a patron of the performing arts with a beautiful voice. She watches after Billy Jo during the summer of 1934 while she is on tour with Arley. Vera puts on a dance revue and Billy Jo plays. Billy Jo looks up to Vera.
  • Reverend Bingham: Reverend of the town, not close to the townspeople, personally. Gives lofty and blanketed services, takes in young baby left on the church stairs.
  • President Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The president of the United States at the time.
  • Aunt Ellis: Bayard Kelby's older sister. Lives in Lubbock.
  • Arley Wanderdale: A performer, he has a band. He encourages Billie Jo to perform on the piano.
  • Doc Rice: The local doctor
  • Mad Dog: A boy from the area that has a beautiful singing voice. And a great piano player.
Show all 16 characters
Popular Covers

Loading covers…

Choose your book’s cover

Quotes edit see section history

  • “I think once she had bigger dreams, but she made herself over to fit my father”
  • “I couldn't tell her. I couldn't bring myself to say......her apples were gone. I never had the chance. Ma died that day, giving birth to my brother.”
    Billie Jo
  • “(trying to play the piano after she was burned) My fingers leave sighs in the dust.”
  • “The way I see it, hard times aren't only about money, or drought, or dust. Hard times are about losing spirit, and hope, and what happens when dreams dry up.”
    Billie Jo
  • “And I'm learning, watching Daddy, that you can stay in one place and still grow.”
    Billie Jo
  • “She wears a comical hat, with flowers, in December, and when she smiles, her face is full enough of springtime, it makes her hat seem just right.”
    Billie Jo
  • “"I keep the kids out and listen behind me, praying for the sound of a baby crying into this world, and not the silence my brother brought with him. And then the cry comes and I have to go away for a little while and just walk off the feelings.”
    Billie Jo

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Panhandle of Oklahoma - the dust bowl - during the Great Depression

First Sentence edit see section history

"As summer wheat came ripe, so did I, born at home, on the kitchen floor."

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Dust Bowl during the Great Depression: Farmers in the Midwest floundered to keep their livelihood viable as dust swarmed up around them daily and rain refused to come.
  • Love: The love of parent to child vs the love of child to parent; as well as the silent love that lurks in places unseen
  • Loss: Describe this theme.
  • The Apple Tree: something growing out of nothing when properly cared for - requiring resources beyond the grasps of those struggling to survive; a lingering hope for the future to come
  • The Dust: covers everything; suffocating, spoiling, drowning hope and desire in its windows; all -invasive; all-encompassing; unavoidable

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Newbery Medal. (authoritative list)
This is book 950 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Karen Hesse (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Scholastic
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: 1997
ISBN: 0590360809
Page Count: 227

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.H4364Ou
  • Dewey: Fic

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

This book uses simple language and clear imagery to depict a scene that will be readily understandable to children of all ages. Some of the concepts and situations in the book might be more suitable for slightly older readers but the book will resonate with students from age 9 to 19 and beyond. An excellent introduction to the Dust Bowl with a strong female protagonist - ideal for budding historians and feminists.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Survival in the Storm
  • Treasures in the Dust

We’re hiding the organizations, glossary entries, errata, movie connections, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.

Sierra B.

You were just viewing this book on Sierra B.’s shelf.

 

© 2006-2013 Shelfari | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy

Close