Out of the dust, paperback/karen hesse

This gripping story, written in sparse first-person, free-verse poems, is the compelling tale of Billie Jos struggle to survive during the dust bowl years of the Depression.

With stoic courage, she learns to cope with the loss of her mother and her grieving fathers slow deterioration.

There is hope at the end when Billie Jos badly burned hands are healed, and she is able to play her beloved piano again.

The 1998 Newbery Medal winner.