Poetry Review #38

 Out of the Dust

Author: Karen Hesse  
Publisher: Scholastic, 2009 
ISBN: 2009 978-0590371254 
Reading Ages: 10 & up  
Genre: Teen & Young Adult United States Historical Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Poetry

I Gave This Book 5 Roars!🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 5 Roars? This is a hard book to read. It is a story about the struggle to survive and the strength of the human spirit. I gave it 5 roars because it reminds me of all the hardships that past generations have had to survive.  It alludes to the amazing ability of humans to overcome even the bleakest of times. I also believe it is a valuable read for upcoming generations. This is the kind of story that teaches us to be grateful for all the good things in life. 

I also think this book is significant because it was one of the few poetry books awarded a Newbery Medal before 2009. 

“from 1987 to 1997, only 1 out of 42 books awarded was a poetry collection, the 1989 medal winner Joyful Noise, by Paul Fleischman. From 1998 to 2008, 3 out of 43 books were poetry (Carver, Show Way, and Out of the Dust)” 

~~  Roxanne Hsu Feldman

Poetic Elements: This book is written as series of free verse poems in the first person as journal entries. It does not rhyme, or use regular patterns. Free verse allows the author to use their own ideas to shape the work.  The poetry is beautiful, but I could see how younger readers might be confused by the lack of backstory. Younger readers might need an explanation or brief history lesson on the conditions that lead to the American "Dust Bowl."

Appeal: I have read a great many mixed reviews on this book, and I agree that the book might not be for younger, more sensitive, readers. However, I believe that the reality of the world we live in is portrayed in many uncomfortable situations and the retelling of history encourages us to be a more grateful and a more prepared people. This should be embraced in the appeal of this book.  

It is not uncommon for other cultures to remind future generations of the hardships that were overcome and the value of not repeating mistakes in history in the form of literature. I believe that more and more American classrooms and younger generations are struggling to read books that value important historical lessons because of the uncomfortable information. The “Dust Bowl” warns us of agricultural elements that could have been prevented and the horrors that follow when humans disrespect the land. 

The historical value of the book, written in a way that is distinctive and creative, should not be discredited because the author portrayed the sufferings of the people during this moment in history.   

 

Overall Quality: The quality of the writing should not be confused with the suffering that this time period holds. The author based the fictional family and characters on historical families and their accounts. 

"Billie Jo tells of her life in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl: Her mother dies after a gruesome accident caused by her father's leaving a bucket of kerosene near the stove; Billie Jo is partially responsible--fully responsible in the eyes of the community--and sustains injuries that seem to bring to a halt her dreams of playing the piano. Finding a way through her grief is not made easier by her taciturn father, who went on a drinking binge while Billie Joe's mother, not yet dead, begged for water. Told in free-verse poetry of dated entries that span the winter of 1934 to the winter of 1935, this is an unremittingly bleak portrait of one corner of Depression-era life. In Billie Jo, the only character who comes to life, Hesse (The Music of Dolphins, 1996, etc.) presents a hale and determined heroine who confronts unrelenting misery and begins to transcend it. The poem/novel ends with only a trace of hope; there are no pat endings, but a glimpse of beauty wrought from brutal reality."  ~~ Kirkus Reviews

Newbery Medal Book 

Scott O’Dell Award

Layout: The lay out is two years of journal entries by the main character. 

Connections:
Spotlight Poem - 

“Daddy came in,
He sat across Ma and blew his nose.
Mud streamed out.
He coughed and spit out
mud.
If he had cried,
his tears would have been mud too,
but he didn’t cry.
And neither did Ma.”

Dorothea Lange Photograph

Farm Security Administration (FSA)

Sharing - This book would be great for sharing with a combined lesson in American history on the "Dust Bowl."  A book talk would work well for it, also.  

Activity - The importance of the "Dust Bowl" and the environment would be a great activity to relate this occurrence to present day. 

Soil Conservation