Karen Hesse

Every day after school Mags has to take care of her little sister, Hannie, who has special needs, and her brother, Mooch, who everyone is saying is a thief. Her mom has to get ready to go to work at her second job in the factory and someone needs to make dinner, do the dishes, clean up the trailer, and get the little ones to bed. Sometimes Mags just wishes it didn't have to be her. When does she get to be a kid? When does someone take care of her? Life isn’t easy when everyone at school show more thinks you're trash, and the school bully is trying to cause problems for you. When Mags and Hannie stumble upon an old, dirty discarded unicorn in the field coming home from school, Hannie must have it. Mags tries to explain to her that there's nowhere to put it in their trailer. But, Hannie believes the unicorn is magic, and she won't leave it behind. Finally, they take it home, deciding to hide it in a garbage bag. Mooch makes the first wish on the unicorn. Next, Mags wishes on the unicorn because she really needs some new clothes. Hannie doesn't wish because she isn’t sure what she wants to wish for. Mags thinks the wishes are silly, but then there are clothes waiting for her when she gets home. Secondhand clothes appear from her aunt, and they make Mags feel pretty good. The next day more magic seems to be happening. Is it the unicorn? Things seem to be getting better, but when faced with a big decision will Mags make the right choice? Will Hannie ever use her wish? Can wishes really come true if wished on a stuffed unicorn? You will have to decide for yourself.

I really enjoyed Wish on a Unicorn by Karen Hesse. My heart went out to Mags, and I wish I could meet her and be friends with her because it's clear she needs a friend. I felt bad for her that she wants to be friends with some girls in class who may not be so nice. Sometimes we want things because we're looking at them through a distorted lens. Mags feels bad about herself and her home life, and I think this makes the popular girls seem more glamorous. My heart also went out to Mags because she has a lot of responsibility for someone her age. Kids are mean to her sister and brother, but her family is simply trying to just get along day by day. I think kids in fifth grade and up would enjoy this book and would want to be friends with Mags too. It made me realize that we often spend so much time wishing about things we don't have- that we don't see what's right in front of us. When push comes to shove we want our family and those we love to be safe and happy. I have to tell you this book made me cry. I listened to it on audio, and I definitely recommend it to others. The narrator did a wonderful job, and I felt my heart being pulled towards the characters. I look forward to reading more books by this author. show less

A quick and heartbreaking look into an event that most Americans have never heard of. Before the US entered World War II, Japanese soldiers had invaded a few of the Aleutian Islands and as a result, the American government forced all the Aleutian natives were forced into internment camps for their own "safety" even though the Japanese quickly lost their tiny little foot-hole and the islands became safe. While the Aleutians were crowded into tiny camps with little amenities, bored US soldiers show more looted the islands destroying the native's homes. This story is told in verse from the perspective of a young girl, and is cheerful and heartbreaking in its tone. There is a dictionary and testimony from a real native girl that lived through the whole ordeal. The US government didn't formally apologize until 1988. show less

I loved every bit of “Out of the Dust.” It was hard but real and you could feel the emotion of the narrator through each page. I had never read a book written in free verse and I was hesitant at first but really found it fascinating and powerful. The book follows Billie Jo through her life during the Dust Bowl. After losing her hands, her mother, and unborn brother to an accidental fire, Billie Jo has a lot going against her, and then there’s the dust. I thought the description of the show more dust in this book was great and overwhelming and I could feel myself along side the characters. I also appreciated how they stayed through it all. So many migrated West and although it temped Billie Jo once, they toughed it out which gave a unique perspective on perseverance, loyalty, and trust in rain. show less

I remembered reading this book when I was much younger in elementary school and, after reading it as an adult, I can't believe how my teachers were allowed to let children that hadn't even reached puberty yet read this novel; it covers a lot of pretty heavy stuff, like the loss of a parent and the subsequent depression. Perhaps it was the free-verse-poetry form Hesse uses to tell the story that allowed this book to sneak under parental radar; what novel written in poetry form could cover show more anything so important?

Hesse's novel Out of the Dust reveals what life was like living in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression through the story of 14-year-old Billy Joe Kelby. Her use of free-verse poetry makes the book an easy read full of beautiful and poignant descriptions that bring to life the everyday occurrences of the people struggling against the elements. I can tell if something has struck a chord with me when I have to close the book and savor the words for a while before moving on; Hesse does just that. Throughout it all, though, is this underlying hope that things will get better - that the rain will come, that Billy Joe's hands will play piano again, or that her dad will come out of his slump and acknowledge his own daughter. Her use of poetry cuts straight to the heart of the matter, bypassing all the verbosity authors can sometimes fall into with prose. I feel like this would be a great book to use in an ELA classroom that coincides with what students might be learning in their history or social studies classes. Also, this book could possibly be used as a transitional piece from a unit on prose to a unit on poetry. show less