Module 7: Because of Winn Dixie

Book Summary:  Opal and her father, the preacher, have moved to Florida and Opal hasn't made any friends yet.  At the Winn Dixie grocery store there is an awesome scene caused by a dog running loose.  Opal steps forward and saves the dog from the pound, names him Winn Dixie and takes him home to see if the preacher will let her keep him.  Opal is able to make several friends in the small town because of Winn Dixie and even gets the courage to ask the preacher about her mother.  Winn Dixie helps other people in town be more social and helps build a bridge between the preacher, who sometimes acts like a turtle, and Opal.

APA Reference:  DiCamillo, Kate.  (2009).  Because of winn-dixie.  New York, NY:  Candlewick.

Impressions:  You can't help but love this dog and Opal.  These characters grew on me and I was sad when the book ended- not because of the ending but because I wanted to keep meeting people in town with Opal.  No matter where she went with Winn-Dixie she made a fast friend and it was interesting to see her become more confident with herself and to see how the dog's presence affected the whole town.  Opal needed this dog and didn't even know it until that day in the grocery store.  The other characters in this story had to have been based on real people DiCamillo knew, their descriptions and how they interacted with each other was fantastic.  I loved how she described each of them and I was able to see how a little girl and a mess of a dog made an impact on each one of them.  There were some serious topics mentioned in here that I wasn't expecting, divorce/abandonment and alcoholism.  This has been one of my favorite books so far on my journey throughout children's literature.

Professional Review:  Because of Winn-Dixie, a big, ugly, happy dog, 10-year-old Opal learns 10 things about her long-gone mother from her preacher father. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal makes new friends among the somewhat unusual residents of her new hometown, Naomi, Florida. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal begins to find her place in the world and let go of some of the sadness left by her mother's abandonment seven years earlier.
With her newly adopted, goofy pooch at her side, Opal explores her bittersweet world and learns to listen to other people's lives. This warm and winning book hosts an unforgettable cast of characters, including a librarian who fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace, an ex-con pet-store clerk who plays sweet music to his animal charges, and the neighborhood "witch," a nearly blind woman who sees with her heart. Part Frankie (The Member of the Wedding), part Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird), Opal brings her own unique and wonderful voice to a story of friendship, loneliness, and acceptance. Opal's down-home charm and dead-on honesty will earn her friends and fans far beyond the confines of Naomi, Florida. (Ages 9 and older)

Coulter, Emilie.  [Review of Because of winn-dixie, by Emilie Coulter].  Amazon.  Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Because-Winn-Dixie-Kate-DiCamillo/dp/0763644323

Library Uses:  I would love to use this to support curriculum with kids who are struggling readers.  This text offers so much through the characters and I feel like it would be a great book to do a small group book club with.  Every reading skill could easily be brought up in this multiple times but I think a struggling reader could connect to Opal and the other characters. Maybe Winn-Dixie could have a positive effect on their lives as well.