Rebecca

It was a fun adventure for kids. From a teachers perspective I appreciate how the author sprinkles a variety of educational content (from math, english/grammar to social studies and art) throughout the story. This way the book can be used as a read aloud and then referred to throughout the day when teaching other subjects.

There were so many great parts, so it is hard to pick just one. I guess, Saturday night when Jaimie was stuck hiding in the bathroom because the workers were there moving the statue. He was worried that Claudia wouldn't know not to leave the bathroom so he thought if he just thought "Stay Put!" really hard that maybe he could think to message directly to her. You will have to read or listen to the book if you want to find out if they got caught or not.

I liked how the children's perspective of each other changed from self-serving to team work. I also like how thier relationship with Mrs. Frankweiler turned out.

Absolutely! I have already recommended it to a friend. I am studying to be an elementary teacher and I had to read some Newbery Award/ or honor books for my elementary literature class. I wasn't real excited about reading "Out of the Dust", as I thought it would be dry as dust. Boy was I wrong! This is an excellent story! Very realistic! It dives into some deep feelings, so I would probably use this for older elementary or middle school children. It is written in a poetic format, but comes across as though it was a series of journal recordings that take you through about 1 1/2 years of this girls life.

My favorite character was Louise. I liked how she gently made her entrance into the family with great sensitivity.

Yes, I listened to it in one sitting, the recording was under 3 hours. I guess I could have spread it out over several sittings. As a teacher, I might be fun to read a little bit each day to the class and spread it over a week or two. Maybe use it when you are trying to focus on journaling. This way you can show the class how journaling can turn into a wonderful story.