Because of Winn-Dixie: Summary and book reviews of Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, plus links to an excerpt from Because of Winn-Dixie and a biography of Kate DiCamillo.

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 Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar. Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship--and forgiveness--can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm. Recalling the fiction of Harper Lee and Carson McCullers, here is a funny, poignant, and utterly genuine first novel from a major new talent. Winner of the 2001 Newbery Honor Award.

Media Reviews

Parents Choice A totally lovable dog and likable characters are part of this humorously gentle, warm, enthralling story about all sorts of friendships. The writing is clear, simple and high quality. A 2000 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner.   Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow, and hope. And it's funny, too. A real gem.   Publishers Weekly (starred review) [E]xquisitely crafted first novel. Each chapter possesses an arc of its own and reads almost like a short story in its completeness; yet the chapters add up to much more than a sum of their parts. . . This bittersweet tale of contemporary life in a small Southern town will hold readers rapt.   School Library Journal (starred review) This well-crafted, realistic, and heartwarming story will be read and reread as a new favorite deserving a long-term place on library shelves.   The Horn Book Guide A gentle book about good people coming together to combat lonliness and heartache--with a little canine assistance.   Booklist Take one disarmingly engaging protagonist and put her in the company of a tenderly rendered canine, and you've got yourself a recipe for the best kind of down-home literary treat. Kate DiCamillo's voice in Because of Winn-Dixie should carry from the steamy, sultry pockets of Florida clear across the miles to enchant young readers everywhere.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Tarick Rogers
Nice Book
Very appealing and awesome in two-thousand seven hundred ninety nine ways. Bye Bye boring books, hello Because of Winn Dixie.

Rated of 5 by Tarick Rogers
What a awesome book
This book is so amazing. I thought that this book was going to be boring, but every chapter I read there was a part I couldn't stop reading.

Rated of 5 by Nora
english student.
As a Esl student, this book help me a lot in my process to learn English, I really liked it. This has a very deep moral about friendship and a good lesson about survival, even if you are alone like the man who went to war and when he returned...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Alyssa
How Because Of Winn-Dixie was
The book was good but it left you hanging. What did Opal do after the collar was paid off? Lots of questions that need to be answered.

Rated of 5 by pierre
Because of Winn-Dixie
This book is fantastic. It made me cry.

Rated of 5 by ariel harris
good
That was very heart warming but I like the movie better.

...14 More Reader Reviews

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