Kate DiCamillo's debut novel wins a 2001 Newbery Honor and
is a NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Bestseller!
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. An
unforgettable first novel about coming of age one sweet
summer--and learning to love what you have.
Because
of Winn-Dixie