Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is set in the Oklahoma dust bowl in 1935. Billie Jo's parents try their hardest to make ends meet, but they just can't. Dust storms pop up constantly, ripping their wheat from the ground, choking livestock, and covering everything - inside and out. Billie Jo's salvation is the piano. She plays so well that she's asked to play in small towns all around the area, for money! Billie Jo's mom becomes pregnant, and everyone is very excited about the baby, especially since Ma hasn't carried a baby to term since Billie Jo was born. Just before the baby was due, there was a terrible accident. Billie Jo's dad left a pail of kerosene next to the cook stove. Ma thought it was water and tried to use it to make tea. The tea caught fire, so she ran outside to dump it out. Billie Jo grabbed the full pail and threw the kerosene out the door, not realizing that her mother was standing right there. Her mother was engulfed in flames. Both Billie Jo and her mother were severely burned - Ma over most of her body and Billie Jo on her hands where she tried to smother the flames. Ma and the baby die as a result of the accident. Billie Jo isn't sure she can get over the feeling that it's her fault, and she can't even play the piano anymore for solace.

This was an excellent book. It is part of the historical fiction collection I assign my students every year, but this is the first time I've read it. I can see why they all like it. I think everyone can relate to Billie Jo, struggling to overcome the accident and make her way in the world.