Out
of the Dust by Karen Hesse is the gripping story of a young girl named
Billie Jo living in the dust bowl during the 1920's. In poetic form,
Hesse tells of her tragic life. Billie Jo is a long legged girl who
very closely resembles her father. Her mother is a bit distant, but
Billie Jo knows in her heart that she is loved. As the result of
one terrible accident, Billie Jo loses her mother and her newborn baby
brother, Franklin and severely disfigures her hands. Her hands were
her life, as they played beautiful music on her mother's piano and in front
of cheering audiences. What can a girl do who has lost so many things
that were so important to her? This book follows her through the
dust storms, detailing how folks lived their lives when there was such
a lack of water that dust settled in drifts on the parched land.
Out of the Dust is a touching story that pulls the reader into the
lives of the people of the dust bowl by focusing on this one young girl
who is looking forward to life like it used to be before the dust.