Out of the Dustby Karen Hesse

Context and Background Notes

Author: Karen Hesse• Born in Baltimore, MD; now

lives and writes in Vermont• Graduated from University of

Maryland• Awards:

– Newberry Medal for Out of the Dust– McArthur Fellows Program– Scott O’Dell Award for Historical

Fiction for Out of the Dust

• Other books: – Phoenix Rising– Sable– Witness– Brooklyn Bridge– And many more!

Setting: Oklahoma 1934

• The Dust Bowl• The Great

Depression• Between the World

Wars (I and II)• A bleak landscape• Incredible poverty--

living off the land.

Characters• Billie Jo - This is a thirteen-

year-old girl and the narrator of the story

• Ma - Billie Jo’s mother. An always present figure in the novel

• Daddy - Billie Jo’s father. A farmer to the bone.

• Franklin - Billie Jo’s baby brother

• Arley Wanderdale - a musician and the school music teacher,

• Mad Dog - a boy who seems to be about Billie Jo's age. He is a rival musician.

• Livie - Billie Jo’s best friend; she is the first person to leave the Dust.

• Aunt Ellis - Daddy's sister who comes to take her baby brother Franklin away but arrives too late.

• President Roosevelt - He helps out the poor farmers with feed, seed and jobs through the CCC.

• Mr. Hardly - the owner of the store nearby and often overcharges his customers.

• Wild Boy - he is polite and works hard; Ma knows he has a mother somewhere who wants him to come home.

Novel or Poetry? (or both…)

According to an excerpt from Dear Librarian: What is a verse novel?

by Dear LibrarianVerse novels are an extraordinary way to read a story. The entire story is written in verse–rather than prose. Prose are usually what fiction books are written in. That means the story is told in sentences which become paragraphs then pages and turn into chapters. In a verse novel the story is told through poems–rhyming or not, it doesn’t matter. Each turn of the page leads to poetry. The rhythm of verse novels becomes hypnotic making this type of book a very quick read.

Extra Resources

• Out of the Dust Booktalk

• Karen Hesse Interview

• Movie clip from O, Brother Where Art Thou