Out of the Dust

Thank you, Jackie Bassett , for a great way to begin a book talk.

Hesse, K. (1997). Out of the dust. New York:  Scholastic Inc.

            Close your eyes; listen; “Brown earth rained down from the sky.  I could not catch my breath the way the dust pressed on my chest and wouldn’t stop.  The dirt blew down so thick it scratched my eyes and stung my tender skin; it plugged my nose and filled inside my mouth.  No matter how I pressed my lips together, the dust made muddy tracks across my tongue.”  This is the reality that Billy Jo had to deal with more than once in her young life while living in Oklahoma during the years of the dust bowl.  Living with her mom and dad in a small house on an Oklahoma farm, Billy Jo tried to make the best of her situation.  Most days she could, watching her mama’s belly grow bigger each day anticipating the birth of a brother or sister, helping her mama with household chores, but most of all, playing the piano.  Billy Jo loved to play the piano, and she was good at it.  She even made money playing the piano.  However, life was not easy for Billie Jo and her family.  Dust storms coming up out of nowhere, blowing away the land and beating down anything that tried to grow.  And there was never enough rain.  And if this wasn’t hard enough, a tragedy in which Billie Jo feels responsible rips her family apart.  Billie Jo is left scared and broken.  Can Billie Jo find the courage and strength to fight for hope in the midst of so much pain and loss?  Read Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse to find out.

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You

Thanks, Sara Heath. Here is another book like Joyful Noise.

Hoberman, M. (2004). You read to me, I’ll read to you: Very short fairy tales to read together. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group.

Plot Summary:

Eight popular fairy tales are presented as short, unique poems. Each one is a variation on the tradition fairy tale and is meant to be read by two readers out loud. The rhyming stories are color-coded to show when the voices speak separately or in unison.

Literary Elements:

The You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You books are such a wonderful addition to an elementary classroom library! They are sure to entice beginning as well as advanced readers. With the style of writing meant to be read aloud by two readers, two students can read together, an advanced reader with a struggling reader, or an adult can read along with a student or the whole class. The changing colors of the text allow the readers to easily see when it is their turn to read. One reader reads aloud one side (in red), the other reads the other side (in purple), and they read together when the text is in the middle and in blue. Each fairy tale is a rhyming poem. For example in one story the text says, “I lost my way. I found your house and thought I’d stay.” The long a sound is heard in the words way and stay and shows an example of how assonance is used within the poems as well. Alliteration is also used throughout the fairy tales and can be seen and heard in the example, “green and gold is really grand.”

 

Curriculum Standard:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.5: Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Curriculum Activity:

To practice expression and fluency, students can be paired together to practice reading one of the fairy tales. With teacher support, each pair can record their poem using an online resource such as Animoto and present them to the class. With Animoto students can create their own illustrations to add to the video or choose from pictures or clip art, then they can add words or voice to the video. Storybird is also a great resource to use and has better options for illustrations to use with a story; however, audio is not an option.