Because of Winn-Dixie

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Summary: A POIGNANT REMINDER OF THANKFULNESS
Review: Florida born author Kate DiCamillo has written a thoughtful lesson in thankfulness, and Tony Award-winning actress Cherry Jones has provided it with an understanding voice.

Ms. Jones, a stage and screen actress, brings ten-year-old India Opal Buloni to affecting life. India is lonely when she moves to a small Florida town with her minister father. She's friendless until she finds a stray dog that she names Winn-Dixie after the supermarket where they found each other.

Winn-Dixie, she finds, attracts an unusual group whom India befriends. In the process, the young girl adjusts to her new life and discovers all that there is to be thankful for.

We thank both Kate DiCamillo and Cherry Jones for this reminder.

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Summary: Wonderful book for all ages!
Review: This is one my favorite books of this year. I read it with my 9 year old and then gave it to my teenager. We all loved it. I have since recommended it to several of my adult friends. This is such a sweet story about friendship, coming of age and growing up in a small southern town. ENJOY!!!!

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Summary: fun to read
Review: If you're looking for a book that will give you a laugh and is easy to read, this is the book for you. I liked the way the girl made friends with so many unusual people and most of all I liked the dog. It was especially good when the dog was in the church.

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Summary: Unforgettable
Review: A masterful story, simply told - Ms. de Camillo is to be applauded for her unforgettable book. Always stopping short of cheap sentimentality, this is that rare "children's" book that is a cleanly written slice of life. Believable in its fantasy, fantastic in its believability . . . I highly recommend this wonderful little story. We should all be so lucky to have friends like Opal and Winn-Dixie.

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Summary: A real gift!
Review: I was given this book by the daughter of a colleague after my precious dog of thirteen years died. What a gift. The story embodies the lessons of life as told through the eyes of a ten year old. It deserves to be reprinted.

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Summary: EXCELLENT READING FOR THE CLASSROOM
Review: I am a fourth grade teacher working in the inner city of Atlanta, GA. This book touched the lives of myself and the students. It is an excellent book with great characters.

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Summary: Not a kids book
Review: Although I was introduced to this book during my tenure as a student teacher in fifth grade, this is not a kids book. This is one that anyone who has ever felt left out can enjoy. India Opal is a great character who is wise beyond her ten years. This novel has wonderful descriptions, dialogue, and use of language. Teachers could use as a read aloud and as an example of how to write a personal narrative. I am waiting for Oprah to get a hold of this one for her club and make a movie of the week!

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Summary: Really good book!
Review: Because of Winn-Dixie is a really cool book. I enjoyed it because I love dogs. It shows how people and dogs can get along. It is very interesting. Once you start reading it you can't stop. It is a book where you get to chapter 18 before you realize it. Because of Winn-Dixie is one of my favorite books.

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Summary: an exuberant story of a girl and her dog
Review: "Because of Winn Dixie", by Kate Dicamillo, was an excellent fictitious, story, with a present time period, about a girl named India Opal Buloni and her dog, Winn Dixie. During India Opal Buloni's first summer in her new town, she adopts a strange sweet, stray dog, called Winn-Dixie, named after the southern grocery store where he is found. India Opal, or Opal for short, is a preacher's daughter. Opal's life severely changes when her father receives a new job, and she has to move to a trailer park in a new town. She struggles with the sadness and curiosity about her alcohol-abusing mother, who she has not seen since she was three years old, when she deserts their family. Winn-Dixie is, a magnificent stray who, among other talents, can grin with a full mouth of teeth. Opal and Winn Dixie establish an outstanding friendship over the summer. Winn Dixie is responsible for the relationship Opal establishes with her father, which has never existed before. Opal learns that friends are kept forever. From reading this story one should learn never to complain. Opal never complains, and she has it pretty hard. This story acknowledges and expresses, friendship, love, forgiveness, tolerance, longing and new beginnings. This book is highly recommended to children 8-15.

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Summary: A short story but an amazing one!
Review: The fictional novel, " Because of Winn-Dixie", by Kate DiCamillo is a simple but interesting novel. This book explores the life of a girl named India Opal Buloni. She moved to Naomi, Florida with her father who is a Preacher. They moved after her mother left them both when she was three. When India and her father arrived to Naomi, her father got a job at the Open Arms Baptist Church of Naomi. On a hot summer day the preacher sent India to a local Winn-Dixie to get a couple of necessities and that is where she found her dog, her first best friend. She named the dog Winn-Dixie. From the library to her church, India and Winn-Dixie went everywhere together. In fact, they were inseparable. Initially India didn't have any friends but this proved to be a life-changing summer. Moving to a new place and trying to fit in is hard, but as the summer progressed, she made many different friends. The friends she made included Mrs. Franny Block, a middle-aged woman who owned the Herman W. Block Memorial Library and Amanda Wilkinson, a girl who India would be going to school with in August. Also, she befriended Otis who worked at Gertrude's Pet Shop, Gloria Dump, an elder who lived in Naomi, Sweetie Pie Thomas, a girl who was a couple years younger than India and the two trouble twins, Dunlap and Stevie Dewberry. India made all these friends over the summer all because of Winn-Dixie. DiCamillo wrote this book not just to tell a wonderful story, but to share with the reader that acceptance could brighten anyone's day. I think that anyone who reads this book would learn that everyone needs a friend human and animal alike. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a touching story that has a heartfelt message. It is a quick read so if you need a short story this one will hit the spot. If you pick this book to read, it will be the highlight of your day!