Tweens 20th Century
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Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of the Dust.New York: Scholastic
Set in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl years, Billy Jo and her family are persistent about surviving the hardships that the land brings. Then a horrible accident changed each course of the family’s lives: Billy Jo is unable to play piano because of her burnt hands and her mother is burnt all over. When her mother passed away, Billy Jo learns to find a way to survive the internal hardships she feels. She finds a path toward healing and forgiveness for both herself and her father.
Kim Leng
Libr 265 Fall 2008
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Cushman, KarenThe Midwife's Apprentice. 1995. New York: Clarion Book
This Newbery Award winner is set in Medieval England. It tells the story of an orphaned girl without a name and a place in the world who found herself work with a midwife named Jane. People called her Brat, but the midwife called Beetle. Beetle would eventually name herself Alyce. Alyce learned about midwifery and all that entails including the herbs, medicine and superstition that goes along with the work. When she is unable to deliver a baby while Jane the midwife was away, she ran away. While away she had the chance to help out another woman in need of a midwife. Although she was reluctant to help, she helped because there was no one else to do the job. Alyce successfully delivers a baby boy and learned an important lesson. She learned that she wants to be a midwife. She learned that it is okay to fail as long as you do not give up.
Kim Leng
Libr 265 Fall 2008
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Hesse, K. (1997). Out of the dust. New York: Scholastic.
Divided into the four seasons, the chronicle of Billie Jo Kelby spans the years of 1934 and 1935, firmly planted in the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma. A gangly fourteen-year-old with a passion for playing the piano, Billie Jo poetically describes her joys and frustrations with life, including an overwhelmingly sorrowful event that changes everything for her. Physically and emotionally scarred by the kerosene fire that causes the death of her mother and baby brother, an accident she is partially responsible for causing, Billie Jo must learn to forgive her father and herself, allowing for healing and going on with life.
In the style of a personal diary, Billie Jo’s story is told through first-hand free-verse poems, each concluded with the month and year. The poetic style often leaves details and general information to be inferred by the reader, encouraging discussion and a search for the reason, the meaning behind the words. It also displays the difference of mood and moment of writing. Instead of being written in the same voice, energy, and style throughout, the entries differ from one another just as the entries of a personal journal differ depending upon the mood and intent of the writer.
Without dwelling too much on the hardships of the environmental conditions, Hesse paints a picture of the Dust Bowl experience. An experience that affected everyday life but was not the only concern. Other concerns were evident and blended together with the realities of the human effects on the natural environment.
Tamara K. Palmer, November 20, 2006.
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