[6th gr.] Out of The Dust

By March 24, 2021Book Recommendations

Acclaimed author Karen Hesse’s Newbery Medal-winning novel-in-verse explores the life of fourteen-year-old Billie Jo growing up in the dust bowls of Oklahoma.

Out of the Dust joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!”Dust piles up like snow across the prairie. . . .”A terrible accident has transformed Billie Jo’s life, scarring her inside and out. Her mother is gone. Her father can’t talk about it. And the one thing that might make her feel better — playing the piano — is impossible with her wounded hands.To make matters worse, dust storms are devastating the family farm and all the farms nearby. While others flee from the dust bowl, Billie Jo is left to find peace in the bleak landscape of Oklahoma — and in the surprising landscape of her own heart.

Out of the Dust

Biography

Karen S. Hesse (born August 29, 1952) is an American author of children’s literature and literature for young adults, often with historical settings.

She won the Newbery Medal for Out of the Dust (Scholastic, 1997).
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo courtesy of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.