Because of Winn-Dixie

by Kate DiCamillo

Book Overview

Funny and poignant, this 2001 Newbery Honor novel captures life in a quirky Southern town as Opal and her mangy dog, Winn-Dixie, strike up friendships among the locals. (Ages 8 and up) The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket--and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells...

Customer Reviews

I love books that don't require batteries!

I saw the movie and enjoyed it. Then I found the book. Sadly, my Mother died when I was a child, and I could never get my dad to tell me about her. I sent him a audio copy, when he was in hospice care. He asked me to visit him, I went. I learn not just 10 things, but 100's of things. Sometimes a book can be the only way to open someone's heart. All parents and grandparents should read this book. It will teach you (the adult) what children long to know, but don't know how to ask. I was named after my Mother, and it has to be the most difficult name EVER! J-E-A-N-N-E, sounds easy? This is why I ordered my headstone before I die. I want to PROOFREAD it!!! Enjoy this book. It's a treasure!

My favorite book is Because of Winn Dixie

We love it because it tells us a grate story

libro excepcional

Es el cuento de una niña hace diez años que halla un perro en la tienda Winn-Dixie. Lo llama a Winn-Dixie. No es un cuento de el perro pero un cuento de ella aunque el perro juega un grande parte. Pienso que todas niñas se gustaría mucha esta libro. No soy una niña y me gusta mucho este libro. Soy un hombre viejo. Este libro es muy facil a leer. Mi español no es muy bueno pero no tengo una problema. Aun mi esposa lo se gusta. Tuve que leerlola. Es tambien una pelicula en ingles. No sé si hay una versión con subtitulos en esañol. Si tiene un niña que se gusta a leer, este es el libro por ella.

A charming dog story full of grace and wisdom!

Our elementary school library just acquired two copies of "Because of Winn-Dixie," because of its status as a Newbery Honor book. I gave it to one of our fourth grade teachers to preview. She devoured it, raved about the book and immediately began reading it aloud to her class. Now we have a growing list of students waiting for it on hold.Before letting the kids check it out, I read it, and absolutely loved it. The other reviews here give you a good picture of what the book is about. What I liked about "Winn-Dixie" is that it packs a lot of grace and wisdom into an appealing scruffy dog story. For example, when Opal befriends elderly Gloria Dump, she asks her about learning "the most important thing.""'It's different for everyone,' she said. 'You find out on your own. But in the meantime, you got to remember, you can't always judge people by the things they done. You got to judge them by what they are doing now.'"Quite often in the past few years I've been disappointed by titles that have received the Newbery Medal or Honor. "Because of Winn-Dixie" is a title that genuinely deserves this honor. In my opinion, this Honor book will become a classic, much as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Newbery Honor books of the 1930s and 1940s are still being read today.Very rarely do I read a book that I insist my friends and fellow teachers read, or that I'm tempted to buy for many people. "Because of Winn-Dixie" falls into that category.

Because of an AWESOME BOOK!!!!!!!

Because of Winn-Dixie is the best book I've ever read!It is about a girl named India Opal who is new in Naomi Florida who is in desperate need of friends. Opal finds a stray dog at a Winn-Dixie grocery store who is also in need of a friend. Their lives change from that point on. This is a great story about friendship. You'll want to buy a dog after reading this book.

"Because of Winn-Dixie" READ IT!

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.)