I have often read Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse as a class read aloud. This book is a verse novel - which means it is a series of poems that tell the story like a novel would tell a story. The setting is Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl years of 1934 and 1935. I've found that although many of my students have heard of the Great Depression, most have never heard of the Dust Bowl and don't really have any idea what it could have been like. The closest some of them can come to a similar experience is standing on the baseball/softball field when a strong wind blows and the infield dirt blows over them. I've found it helpful to have visuals available for them to help put things in perspective. One aspect that always leads to an interesting discussion is the cost of items in the story. Things sound so inexpensive and I find it a challenge to equate it to today's dollars - especially since I teach in a relatively affluent town so most of my students have the necessities at hand and many extras as well. Some years this book is a great hit, and other years the students don't love it as much. I, however, love it every time I read it! Out of the Dust is one of the books to which I attribute my growing appreciation for poetry.
I've added some additional information below about the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
A dust storm is quickly approaching.
Covered in dust after the storm. Although it looks like snow, it is dust!
This is a video from a documentary about the Dust Bowl years.
This video tells the story of one family's experience with one two-hour dust storm.
A quick, 31 second video clip explaining what happened.
This video clip is dedicated to Woody Guthrie and features two of his songs, Dust Storm Disaster and So Long It's Been Good to Know You (I think I'll use this video as an introduction to the book!)
