Out of the Dust

Listening Library’s, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, read by Marika Mashburn

Obviously, this was a great book – winner of the 1998 Newbery Medal and the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. It tells of the heart-wrenching Dust Bowl years in the life of Billy Jo, a 14-year-old girl from the Oklahoma panhandle.

The audio version, however, has a slight handicap to overcome. Because this is a free verse novel written in a journal format, there is no dialogue to break the monotony of single voice narration. Marika Mashburn does an excellent job in evoking Billy Jo’s emotions; the reader can hear both the smiles and the tears in her voice. Additionally, her voice sounds youthful and believable as the young Billy Jo; however, the reading sometimes feels rushed. Overall, I think that this title is best read rather than heard. YALSA’s Audiobook and Experimental Media Committee selected Out of the Dust for their “annual list of spoken word recordings with high aesthetic and content appeal for listeners ages 12 through 18.”

Elijah of Buxton

I have not yet read this year’s Newbery Medal winner, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! but it must be a phenomenal book to have beaten Christopher Paul Curtis’, Elijah of Buxton. There are certainly enough superlatives about this book already circulating. I will only add an observation. Curtis’ knack for distilling the wisdom of ages and the lessons of life into a formula for young readers is simply superb! Reading Elijah’s experiences and his estimation of them is like returning to childhood, with all its innocence and honesty. The lessons learned in Elijah of Buxton will stick with the reader for a lifetime. As in The Watsons Go to Birmingham, the more horrific parts of history play a peripheral role to that of the central characters, creating books that are as entertaining as they are educating. Elijah is a winning, likable and believable character. This book had me laughing out loud, as well as crying.