Characters
Who is Billie Jo?
The effects of Billie Jo throwing kerosene out the front door.
What are Ma is badly burned, Billie Jo's hands are burned, Ma dies, Franklin dies, Daddy starts drinking and she feel like everyone blames her.
This is the author of the book.
Who is Karen Hesse?
Billie Jo was unhappy about her father spending time with all those biddies. What are biddies?
What is women (not a kind description)?
Ma is not very expressive. She is reserved. What does she say when Billie Jo does well on the state tests?
What is "I knew you could."?
Billie Jo has a crush on him, but he doesn't seem to notice her in that way.
Who is Mad Dog?
Billie Jo does this after she writes, "He is rotting away, like his father, ready to leave me behind in the dust."
What is she gets on a train and runs away?
Karen Hesse found a rag doll in a consignment store that she imagined was this character. This rag doll sat on her computer monitor and watched her write the book.
Who is Bayard Kelby (Daddy)?
This word means abandoned on purpose.
What is forsaken?
This was a symbol of hope to Ma during The Dust Bowl.
What is her apple tree?
She was badly burned by kerosene left near the stove.
Who is Ma?
In the Winter of 1935 there is proof that Billie Jo's father really does love her. Name the proof.
What is he goes out in a terrible dust storm to try and find her and comes back raw and dirty with bruised feet? He risks his own life to try to save her.
The author and Billie Jo have this in common.
Daddy tells Billie Jo that he didn't have "half her sauce". What does this idiom mean?
It means he didn't have the courage or strength to do something.
He encouraged Billie Jo to continue to play the piano even after her hands were burned.
Who is Arley Wanderdale?
This person understands Billie Jo and doesn't tell her what to do.
Who is Louise?
Billie Jo tried to get out of the dust, but she comes back. This quote in the book describes why she couldn't stay away.
What is "...what I am, I am because of the dust."
This is the setting of the story. You need to give the year and place.
What are 1934-35 in Oklahoma?
In the book Billie Jo writes that the invitation was "glowering" at her. This is an example of what kind of figurative language?
What is personification?
What song does Billie Jo play in her mind so that the next time she won't play like a cripple? Is it "Stormy Raindrops", "Stormy Thunder", or "Stormy Weather"?
What is "Stormy Weather"?
He built a pond in the middle of The Dust Bowl.
Who is Daddy?
Hidden Surprise: Name the singer/songwriter that lived during The Dust Bowl and had such hits as "Do Re Mi" and "So Long It's Been Good to Know You".
Who is Woody Guthrie?
The book is written like a __________ (genre).
What is poetry or a journal?
Billie Jo writes, "I hear the first drops. Like the tapping of a stranger at the door of a dream, the rain changes everything. This is an example of what kind of figurative language? You must be able to support your answer.
What is a simile? Two things are compared and the word like is used. She is comparing drops of rain to a stranger tapping at the door.
Name three effects of The Dust Bowl.