DiCamillo, K. (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie . Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press. Genre Category: Contemporary Realistic Novel
Source: Newbery Honor, 2001.
Age Range: Ages 7 to 13
Assessment of the book’s quality: The book is significant for its use of simple and succinct writing and for its straightforward plot.
Assessment of the book’s potential use with children: The book can be used for free voluntary and pleasure reading, providing the opportunity to face ethical dilemmas as well as to develop their own value system.
Assessment of the book’s child appeal: Appealing for children interested in animals and friends, answering or solving ethical questions and dilemmas in addition to modern day problems facing children today such as divorce or loss of a parent.
Imagine finding an ugly, skinny but smiling, happy and friendly dog in your local Ralph’s Supermarket and naming him Ralphs - after the supermarket! This book - Because of Winn Dixie - is a delightful and poignant tale of everyday life through the eyes of a tender and fun ten-year-old girl and her constant companion dog, Win Dixie whom she finds in a supermarket store and gives him the supermarket’s name. Why? That you’ll find out in the book!
The story is filled with universal themes such as hope, sorrow, friendship, accepting others for who they are, and new beginnings. Not surprisingly, one of the most interesting themes in the book is that it really takes courage to see another person for who they truly are, and to admit what you see if it isn't what everybody else sees. This ten-year-old girl in the story, who has recently moved to Naomi, Florida, finds out through her conversations with her newly made friends of all ages (grown-ups and children her age and much younger) that these other people have endured pain and loneliness just as she has and that they are not what they appeared to be or others believed them to be in the first place. Through her search of some answers – such as who her mother is (trying to learn 10 things about her mother), why did she leave her and her preacher father – she finds answers about herself and her place in the world and learns to let go of some of the sadness left by her mother's abandonment - and this of course, with the help of Winn Dixie!
Reaction and Impressions:
The novel is written in first-person narrative from a child’s perspective. The book is very easy to like. Some of the characteristics of the book (funny, sad, and encouraging), can easily gravitate a young reader to reading books due to the more involved interest in the characters and better and more complete use of imagination. The book is relatively short with short chapters and simple print, where lines are almost double-spaced with generous margins. The writing is simple and succinct and does not include “fancy”, difficult-to-understand vocabulary, making this an easy read in general. The grammar is deliberately imperfect ("I washed him good", "Me and the preacher went off..."), more fitting to the language palate of a ten-year-old child.
"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." _ Kirkus Book Reviews.
"A gentle book about good people coming together to combat lonliness and heartache--with a little canine assistance." _ The Horn Book
"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." _ Booklist
"Exquisitely 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." _ Publishers Weekly
"...The quick beginning, an essential feature of well-written children's books, carries Because of Winn-Dixie forward quite effectively. The stage is set in the first sentence: "My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes, and I came back with a dog." Ten-year-old Opal then proceeds to tell the funny story of a stray dog found in the produce department of the Winn-Dixie grocery store, where she calls him as if he were her own in order to save him from the pound. Because of Winn-Dixie is indeed a dog story, but it is also the story of a child, lonely yet resourceful, who has just recently moved to Naomi, Florida, with her father. It is the story of a motherless child, who longs for the love and comfort that a mother could provide. It is the story of a character finding her way in the world, a character seemingly tentative, yet as starkly defined as her red hair and the big, ugly, smiling stray dog she takes home, washes, and makes her own. And it is the story of Opal's developing friendships with distinctive, well-drawn characters—old Gloria Dump, who is almost blind; the librarian, Miss Franny Block; shy Otis at the pet store—encounters made possible, one way or another, because of the dog, Winn-Dixie."_ Five Owls
Imagine finding an ugly, skinny but smiling, happy and friendly dog in your local Ralph’s Supermarket and naming him Ralphs - after the supermarket! This book - Because of Winn Dixie - is a delightful and poignant tale of everyday life through the eyes of a tender and fun ten-year-old girl and her constant companion dog, Win Dixie whom she finds in a supermarket store and gives him the supermarket’s name. Why? That you’ll find out in the book!
The story is filled with universal themes such as hope, sorrow, friendship, accepting others for who they are, and new beginnings. Not surprisingly, one of the most interesting themes in the book is that it really takes courage to see another person for who they truly are, and to admit what you see if it isn't what everybody else sees. This ten-year-old girl in the story, who has recently moved to Naomi, Florida, finds out through her conversations with her newly made friends of all ages (grown-ups and children her age and much younger) that these other people have endured pain and loneliness just as she has and that they are not what they appeared to be or others believed them to be in the first place. Through her search of some answers – such as who her mother is (trying to learn 10 things about her mother), why did she leave her and her preacher father – she finds answers about herself and her place in the world and learns to let go of some of the sadness left by her mother's abandonment - and this of course, with the help of Winn Dixie!
Reaction and Impressions:
The novel is written in first-person narrative from a child’s perspective. The book is very easy to like. Some of the characteristics of the book (funny, sad, and encouraging), can easily gravitate a young reader to reading books due to the more involved interest in the characters and better and more complete use of imagination. The book is relatively short with short chapters and simple print, where lines are almost double-spaced with generous margins. The writing is simple and succinct and does not include “fancy”, difficult-to-understand vocabulary, making this an easy read in general. The grammar is deliberately imperfect ("I washed him good", "Me and the preacher went off..."), more fitting to the language palate of a ten-year-old child.
"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." _ Kirkus Book Reviews.
"A gentle book about good people coming together to combat lonliness and heartache--with a little canine assistance." _ The Horn Book
"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." _ Booklist
"Exquisitely 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." _ Publishers Weekly
"...The quick beginning, an essential feature of well-written children's books, carries Because of Winn-Dixie forward quite effectively. The stage is set in the first sentence: "My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes, and I came back with a dog." Ten-year-old Opal then proceeds to tell the funny story of a stray dog found in the produce department of the Winn-Dixie grocery store, where she calls him as if he were her own in order to save him from the pound. Because of Winn-Dixie is indeed a dog story, but it is also the story of a child, lonely yet resourceful, who has just recently moved to Naomi, Florida, with her father. It is the story of a motherless child, who longs for the love and comfort that a mother could provide. It is the story of a character finding her way in the world, a character seemingly tentative, yet as starkly defined as her red hair and the big, ugly, smiling stray dog she takes home, washes, and makes her own. And it is the story of Opal's developing friendships with distinctive, well-drawn characters—old Gloria Dump, who is almost blind; the librarian, Miss Franny Block; shy Otis at the pet store—encounters made possible, one way or another, because of the dog, Winn-Dixie."_ Five Owls
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