Summary
Because of Winn-Dixie is a story
about a 10 year old girl who has just moved to Naomi, Florida with
her her father. Opal is a lonely little girl who has trouble talking
with her father who is always so busy. Opal's father is a preacher
for the Open Arm Baptist Church and Opal has trouble thinking of him
as daddy, since he is always working on writing his sermons and
being a preacher. Opal has trouble making friends, but found a
lovable stray dog that helped to change her life. It was because of
Winn-Dixie that she was able to meet people and make friends more
easily. It was also because of Winn-Dixie that she gained the
courage to ask her father to tell her 10 things about her mother as
her birthday present.
Opal thinks her new pet is both
intelligent and understanding. She felt that Winn-Dixie had many
things in common with herself. Winn-Dixie was a stray, without a
family, and Opal did not have a mother. It does not matter to Opal
if other people like her or not, she has gained confidence in the
love of her pet. Yet Opal does make friends. There is Gloria Dump
who lived alone and was rumored to be a witch. Opal visits her and
they talk about the many bottles hanging on Gloria's tree in her back
yard. Opal takes the time to read to Gloria, since Gloria has poor
eyesight. Opal makes friends with Otis, who is a shy pet store
clerk. Opal sweeps the pet store in exchange for a new collar for
Winn-Dixie. There is also Miss Franny Block, the librarian who liked
to tell Opal stories. Even Sweetie Pie Thomas became her friend,
even though she is only five.
Winn-Dixie is afraid of
thunderstorms. When he hears the boom of thunder, he panics and
runs. One night, during a thunderstorm, Opal and her father go about
town looking for Winn-Dixie. Opal blames herself for not holding on
to Winn-Dixie when it began to rain. Opal began to cry and so did
the preacher. Opal cried for her lost pet, the preacher cried
because he realized that even though he lost his wife, he still had
his daughter. He tells Opal that even though her mama left and took
everything she owned, "Thank God Your mama left me you."
(Di Camillo, p. 167)
Impressions
The
story of Opal is told in the first person narrative. The reader sees
all the characters of the story through Opal's eyes. She sees Franny
Block as a kindly old librarian, and Gloria Dump who is a person who
listens to Opal's problems. One girl, Amanda seems to ignore Opal
and never smiles. Opal thinks she is a snob until one day she finds
out that Amanda is just sad about the loss of her little brother.
The
appeal of this book is that the characters seem real and Winn-Dixie
is loveable. Children can relate to the problems this book tells
about, like the loss of a mother, how to make friends, and how to
understand one's father. Otis's shyness, Amanda's sadness over the
loss of her little brother, and town's superstition that Gloria Dump
is a witch, are also part of the characterizations that children can
identify with.
There
are some grown up problems in this story as well. One problem is the
inability of Opal's father to speak with his daughter about why her
mama ran away. He hides behind his work, and Opal does not feel like
intruding, even though she wants to know about her mother. Another
grownup problem is that of alcoholism. Opal's mother drank and that
was one reason why she left her family, because she could not stop
drinking. Gloria Dump used to drink, but she was able to stop. She
hung all the empty bottle s of liquor on her big tree in her backyard
to remind her of times when she made wrong decisions.
Use
in the library
One
activity for the library could be to make a poster of a large tree.
Have students cut out shapes that represent different kinds of
bottles. On each of the shapes, the students could write one wrong
decision they have made, and one right decision. attach a string to
the bottle cut outs and glue to the tree.
Another
activity for this book is to discuss each character as if Opal is
asking for ten things about them. The example could be the ten
things about Opal's mama that her father tells her. Students can
work in groups to list ten things they know about each of the
characters in the book. Opal, Winn-Dixie, the preacher, Gloria Dump
and so on. Another way to get the students to discuss the
characterization in the book is to create a 10 word or short phrase
list that describes each character, use the words the students have
previously made in their groups. Cut out each word or phrase and
shuffle them like a card deck. On a large paper pad, write the name
of each character leaving space beneath each name for the ten words
or phrases. Pass out the cut out words (put a little double stick
tape on the backs). Have students place their words in the column
under the character the word represents. For example, under the
column labeled Winn-Dixie, the phrase "fear of thunderstorms"
or "peanut butter eater" should be placed. Under the
column for the preacher, the phrase "hiding in his turtle shell"
should be placed.
Reviews
From
Kirkus Reviews
A
10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some
fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to
a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a
fresh new voice. India Opal’s mama left when she was only three,
and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and
in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of
Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big
piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But,
this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as
Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog
who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets
Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of
her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the
librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who
hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in
her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the
gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in
the pet store. 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. Reviewed April 1, 2000.
From
School Library Journal
India
Opal Buloni, 10 finds a big, ugly, funny dog in the produce
department of a Winn-Dixie grocery store. She names him accordingly
and takes him home to meet her father, a preacher. Her daddy has
always told her to help those less fortunate, and surely Winn-Dixie
is in need of a friend. Opal needs one, too. Since moving to Naomi,
FL., she has been lonely and has been missing her mother more than
usual. When she asks her father to tell her 10 things about her
mother, who left the family when Opal was three, she learns that they
both have red hair, freckles, and swift running ability. And, like
her mother, Opal likes stories. She collects tales to tell her
mother, hoping that she'll have a chance to share them with her one
day. These stories are lovingly offered one after another as rare
and polished gems and are sure to touch readers' hearts. They are
told in the voice of this likable Southern girl as she relates her
day-to-day adventures in her new town with her beloved dog. Do
libraries need another girl-and-her-dog story? Absolutely, if the
protagonist is as spirited and endearing as Opal and the dog as
lovable and charming as Winn-Dixie. This well-crafted, realistic,
and heart-warming story will be read and reread as a new favorite
deserving a long-term place on library shelves. By Helen Foster
James, University of California at San Diego.
Resources
Di
Camillo, K. (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie. New York, NY:
Scholastic, Inc.
James,
H. (2000, June). [Review of the book Because of Winn-Dixie by K. Di
Camillo]. School Library Journal. 46(6). p. 143. Retrieved
from http://www.slj.com/
[Review
of the book Because of Winn-Dixie by K. Di Camillo]. (2000, April
1). Retrieved from
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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