Summary. India is her given name. Opal is what her father calls her. She thinks of him as “the preacher” rather than “Dad;” he pastors a church in town. Her mother left them when Opal was small, so she and her father try to make sense of the world as a twosome. New to town and knowing no one, Opal is lonely and wonders how to meet people. Then she finds a shaggy stray wandering the aisles of the grocery store. On an impulse, she takes the mutt home and dubbs him “Winn-Dixie,” in honor of the place of their meeting. Over time, Winn-Dixie becomes more than just a pet to Opal. He is her entree into the town. Winn-Dixie wins the hearts of both old and young, and gives Opal hope for her future. 
Citation. DiCamillo, Kate. Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2000. Print.
My Impressions. Opal's feelings of isolation and loneliness will resonate with anyone who's moved to a new town, started a new school, or lost a parent to death or divorce. Her improvised solution to that problem, taking in a stray mutt, is not something she planned out but rather just something that happened along. As it turns out, Opal discovers a wealth of friends in the oddballs of the town that she'd overlooked or dismissed. And all this because Winn-Dixie loves everyone and gets into all sorts of predicaments. Grades 4-6.
Library uses. "Winn-Dixie" would be a great book for a book discussion group, due to its friendly outlook, appealing characters, and almost universal theme of wanting to fit in. It could also be used by counselors in a school setting who are brainstorming with kids who feel isolated as to what they can do to improve their situation.
Awards. 2001 Newbery Honor award, Josette Frank Award from the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education.
Reviews. (Booklist) Like Kimberly Willis Holt's When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (1999), this novel joins the long tradition of fiction exploring a small southern town's eccentric characters. It's summer, and 10-year-old India Opal Buloni moves with her preacher father to tiny Naomi, Florida. She's lonely at first, but Winn-Dixie, the stray dog of the title, helps her befriend a group of lovable, quirky locals, eventually bringing her closer to her father and the truth about her mother, who left the family when India was 3. Told in India's sensitive, believable voice, the story is most successful in detailing the appealing cast of characters, including Otis, an ex-convict, musician, and pet store manager; Miss Franny, a Willie Wonkaesque librarian whose "Litmus Lozenges" candies taste like sorrow; and nearly blind Gloria Dump, whose tree hung with empty liquor bottles reminds her of "the ghosts of all the things I done wrong." While some of the dialogue and the book's "life lessons" can feel heavy-handed, readers will connect with India's love for her pet and her open-minded, free-spirited efforts to make friends and build a community. --Gillian Engberg. Booklist, May 2000,96.17:1665.
(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 heartwarming story will be read and reread as a new favorite deserving a long-term place on library shelves.-Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.School Library Journal, 46.6:143.
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