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Summary: A multi-layered story I'll never forget!
Review: I was expecting a cute, quick little read; what I got is a multi-layered story I'll never forget. Because of Winn-Dixie is like Miss Franny's Littmus Lozenges: a perfect mixture of lots of different ingredients. Yes, there's melancholy, but it's also full of joyful and just plain funny moments (The chapter where Winn-Dixie reveals his pathological fear of thunderstorms is absolutely delightful). I'm a children's librarian, and I'll recommend this book to kids and adults with enthusiasm!
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Summary: Mother Daughter Book Club
Review: This book contained a preacher, dog and motherless child. Other books it reminded us of were The Mitford series and Lightning's Last Hope. We liked the realistic but zany characters and the heartwarming story about how a dog can transform a young girl's life who happens to be new in town. Just imagine a dog that smiles! We hope Kate Dicamillo continues with a sequel to Because of Winn-Dixie.Pembroke (MA) Library Mother Daughter Bookclub
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Summary: Read This Book!
Review: As a lover of good writing and story-telling and a reader of numerous "children's books", and as the caretaker of three of my own stray "Winn-Dixies", I naturally was attracted to this story. How glad I am that I was. I read this thing in one gulp. It is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! It is the best book I've read this year, and one of the best I've read in several years. It is a small book, but a HUGE life-affirming story. Read it! It will grab your heart and never let go.
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Summary: completely charming
Review: Because of Winn-Dixie is a completely charming and satisfying book. India Opal, a young girl with an unusual name, a preacher father and a homely dog named Winn-Dixie moves to a new town and manages to make it her home. Wonderfully memorable characters, the sweet relationship between India and her pooch, and the individual stories that compose each chapter endear this book to the reader. As India tells the story from her perspective, she learns to value herself and enjoy others that are different and new to her. A quick and enjoyable read that will leave a smile on your face.
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Summary: A Heartfelt Look Through a Young Girl's Eyes
Review: As a longtime resident of a small Florida town, I can honestly say that this story rings true on so many layers. At first, Opal seems to be a very average child, who throughout the course of each chapter, blossoms with poise, elegance & a maturation only rivaled by few adults, as she develops relationships with others. She thinks she owes this new-found confidence to her recently befriended canine companion, who evokes a sense of love, compassion & self-worth that is in turn transcended to everyone who enters Opal's life. It is a wonderful story and spiritual lesson--and not just for a child.
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Summary: Best Novel I've Read This Season
Review: I am an avid reader of books for young people. This book was a wonderful surprise. I expected a 'nice' read. What a got was a touching, well written novel that I would recommend wholeheartedly to all ages. As a self-proclaimed 'book snob', I don't say these things lightly. Well done!
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Summary: Winn-Dixie is a winner!
Review: Racing through an airport, I spotted this book for sale and purchased it for my 9 year-old. I started reading Winn-Dixie just to get a feel for the story and the next thing I knew, I had finished the book, missed the first hour of the flight and had throughly enjoyed a book I thought was written for children! Needless to say, my daughter enjoyed the book so much that she, her father and her younger sister then read the book aloud together. I plan to read Winn-Dixie aloud to my 8th grade students next fall. Buy this book. It is remarkable and to not read it is to miss a wonderful story by a very talented writer for all ages.
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Summary: A gem of a book
Review: This book will make you laugh (especially when Winn-Dixie smiles), it will make you cry (that India Opal's mother left her). It's a children's book for all ages. I review books, and this is the best one I've read this spring.
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Summary: "Because of Winn-Dixie" READ IT!
Review: As my ten-year-old daughter and I were browsing for new realistic fiction children's books to fulfill a school reading assignment, we, by chance, came across "Because of Winn-Dixie," by Kate DiCamillo. The title of the book (and the fact that it was new) influenced our purchase, but it wasn't until my daughter and I read it that we realized what a treasure we had discovered. Both children and adults will be drawn into the story of India Opal Buloni's tenth summer, when she adopts a big, ugly, but affable dog, Winn-Dixie, named after the Florida grocery store where he was found. India Opal, or Opal for short, is a preacher's daughter with a fairly unusual name. Opal has some major life adjustments to make, after moving with her dad to a trailer in a strange, new town. While trying to break through the seemingly impenetrable shell of her introverted father's feelings, she also has to wrestle with her own sadness, disappointment, and curiosity about her alcohol-abusing mother, who deserted the family when Opal was three years old. Winn-Dixie, a magnificent mutt who, among other talents, can smile with his teeth, is the facilitator of a number of new and sometimes unlikely friendships that Opal establishes over the summer, including one with her father. "Because of Winn-Dixie" acknowledges in is characters their shortcomings and sufferings, but the triumph of this book is how it celebrates friendship, forgiveness, tolerance, and new beginnings. (P.S. You might want to have a handkerchief on hand for some parts.)
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Summary: A good read
Review: I opened Kate DiCamillo's book in anticipation of a good read and I was not disappointed. The characters are well-drawn and believable, their voices sure and strong, and I was pulled right into their stories. I *like* India Opal (what a wonderful name!) and Winn Dixie. Everyone should have a couple of friends like these two. A book tht can be read with enjoyment by both adults and children is a treasure. Thank you, Kate.
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