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Summary: The most precious book ever
Review: This book was so precious and wonderful! I read it in one night. If you love dogs- you can't not read this book! The plots surprises and unexpected events make it a page turner- and great to read aloud to anyone! A true favorite of mine.
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Summary: A Mild Book
Review: This is a sweet book, but nothing exciting happens in it. It is only a list of events.
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Summary: A Feel Good Book
Review: "Because of Winn Dixie" is a sweet story with no curse words, violence, or sex. The way Winn Dixie, a dog, brings together a group of people who desperately need joy and companionship leaves the reader feeling great. My fourth graders groan when I tell them we'll continue reading the story the next day. It's wonderful for children and adults alike.
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Summary: Critical Reflection on Because of Winn-Dixie
Review: Stephanie Theo English 385.004 April 10, 2001 Dr. Michelle H. Martin Critical Reflection #2 DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2000. Kogan, Lori R., Viney, Wayne. "Reported Strength of Human Animal Bonding and Met Animal Bonding and Method or Acquriring a Dog." Psychological Reports 82 (1998): 647-650. Brown, Brett V. " Single-father family: demographic, economic, and public transfer use characteristics." Marriage and Family Review 29 (2000): 203-221. In Because of Winn-Dixie, when ten-year-old Opal Buloni, who lives with her father, discovers a stray dog at the local Winn-Dixie grocery store, she never suspects how the dog will change her life. Right away, Opal knows that she can tell Winn-Dixie anything. For example, she tells him that she thinks of her mother a lot, when she can say this to no one else. When Opal was three-years-old, her mother left her and her father. Opal never knew the reason why her mother left them. One day, she asks her father, who says that her mother had a lot of problems, one of which was drinking. An excellent preacher, Opal's father, he has been preaching his entire life. Opal feels that she doesn't have a father because he never tries to make conversation with her. Throughout the book, friendship and family are the two main points focused on. Opal is not abandoned but neglected when she and her father first move to Naomi, Florida. She calls her father as the "preacher" and not "daddy" or "father". She doesn't look at him as a father figure. Throughout the whole book, she keeps saying that when she asks her father a serious question vague, he climbs into his shell like a turtle. Opal asks her father to tell her ten things about her mother since she was to young when she left them and doesn't remember anything about her. One of the things that her father tells her is that her mother loved stories, so from that moment, any story she hears, she remembers so that one day when she sees her mother again, she can sit down with her and tell them to her. Opal finally realizes in the end of the story that she has lost her mother, and now she knows she will never see her again. Religion takes on a large part in this book, the main reason being that her father is a preacher and he brings God into their home. In the article "Marriage & Family Review," Brown comments on single fathers versus married fathers. The article states that, " The analysis shows that single fathers earn less that married fathers, have lower household incomes, are less educated, and are substantially more likely to be receiving public transfers" ( 214). In this story, Opal and her father live in a trailer park. It is a little run down and not suitable for a 10 year-old-girl to be running around in alone. It doesn't appear to be a healthy family environment. However, with her father's job, this is all that he can afford for them to live in since they just moved to a new church and a new state. The church in which he works in is not a real church; it is an old run down convenience store. Once Winn-Dixie moves into their home, things began to change drastically. The relationship between Opal and her father strengthens a great deal. The hope that Opal uses to overcome the absence of her mother and the hope to establish a relationship with her father comes from the animal-child relationship she gains from Winn-Dixie. In a "Psychological Reports" journal article on animal-child relationships, test showed that participants who had chosen their own animals rather than receiving an animal from someone else scored higher on bonding with their pets than the participants whom had received their pets from another owner. Opal and the preacher realize that with a little help from Winn-Dixie, they've both tasted a bit of melancholy in their lives, and they still have a whole lot to be thankful for. This story will give hope to anyone who has had family separation or loved their dog as much as Opal and her father do. He gives Opal a reason to go on and live even when she feels that no one else is there. Even though she never gets reunited with her mother and receives the love from her that Opal has always dreamed about, she still has Winn-Dixie and her father.
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Summary: Outstanding Audiotape Version--don't miss it!!!
Review: My daughter and I recently went to Texas and had a lot of driving to do. We picked up a copy of this audiotape (we already had the book) and were IMMEDIATELY held captive by both the story and the reader. We must have heard the entire unabridged reading at least 10 times before we flew home. Our favorite audiotapes include the Harry Potter series (as read by Jim Dale), "The Trolls" read by Julie Hagerty and written by Polly Horvath, and now Cherry Jones' reading of "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo. The story is very accessible, the chapters each contain a story within a story--so that you can stop, do an errand, and come back without having the sense of being lost in the tale. And the reader gives a strong portrayal of each character with different voices and intonation. I highly recommend this tape both to those who have already read the book as well as to those who might otherwise miss it--even for non-readers, this is a book that will touch you heart and make you laugh, too. It's about a lonely girl abandoned by her mother, who has moved because of her father's job (he's a preacher who has changed congregations) to another town in Florida. The assortment of Southern "characters" she encounters does not disappoint those expecting fairly unusual and/or peculiar types. A dog named after a grocery chain, a pair of oldertwo elderly "eccentrics" befriended by the girl, a guitar-playing convict, and assorted children from her father's church are all set in relief by their stories and their "proximity" to the dog who the girl brings home from the grocery instead of macaroni and cheese. It's hard to believe the power of the performance by Cherry Jones which seems so direct and uncomplicated upon first hearing. However, as the number of times I heard the tape increased, I heard new subtleties in the performance with each repetition--the strength of the performance is clearly not accidental. This is one of the finest children's audiotapes we own--and we own quite a lot!!! Highly recommended for a broad range of ages as well as both girls and boys.
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Summary: Wacky dog sneezes for friends
Review: Winn-Dixie is the most adorable mutt you'll ever hope to meet. Her owner, India Opal, is lonely and needy. Winn-Dixie helps her make friends in a new town. You will laugh and you will cry.
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Summary: The best book
Review: I think Because of Winn-Dixie is very heartwarming and loving. It gives you lots of little giggles. You'll never want to put it down.
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Summary: One of the Best Books That Has Been Written!!
Review: Because of Winn-Dixie was a great book about friendship. A girl named India (her father called her Opal) was in the grocery store, and came back out with a dog.The dog,Winn-Dixie,has many talents.Opal was new to the town. Winn-Dixie was Opal's first best friend. Together,Opal made many more new friends. All the characters are well put and some are funny. The end is one of my favorite parts. I would recommend Because of Winn-Dixie to any dog lover,like gentle,loving friendship stories, then this is the book for you!!!
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Summary: Way To Go, Kate!
Review: One of the things I love best about being a librarian is seeing brand new books as they come in. I was so excited I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that fellow CHS graduate Kate DiCamillo had written, published and received Newbery recognition for a story so close to home. As children growing up in a very small town in central Florida, my brother, my sister and I did everything with our big black dog, Tosha. She camped with us in a tiny tent in our back yard, curled up in front of the fireplace with us in the winter, swam with us in the summer and sailed with us on our little blue boat. She kept us safe, chased squirrels and raccoons away, and shivered with us under the table during the lightning storms. She never left our side, for as long as she was in our lives. The story of friendship and loyalty between Opal and Winn-Dixie is one that every child (and adult) can relate to. I hope that Oprah's next choice is Because of Winn-Dixie. I'm inspired that stories like this are still being written, and I look forward to reading Kate's next!
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Summary: A real gem
Review: This book turned out to be my "find" of the summer. I picked it up off the shelf thinking it was just "another dog story" my students would enjoy reading. What I discovered instead was a true gem of a book. This is one of those stories that, like its central character Winn-Dixie, brings people together. I read this book aloud to my third and fourth grade students, and not only did they beg me to read every day, but engaged in thoughtful conversations about the characters. A must read for all elementary students as well as their teachers and parents!
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