Book Review: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Publisher: Candlewick (2009 reprint)
Original Release Date: 2000
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

When 10 year-old India Opal Buloni moves to Naomi, Florida with her father, she doesn’t know what to expect – least of all that she’ll adopt Winn-Dixie, a dog she names after the supermarket where they meet. With such an usually friendly dog at her side, Opal soon finds herself making more than a few unusual friends. And soon, Opal and her father realize – with a little help from Winn-Dixie, – of course – that they while they’ve both tasted a bit of melancholy in their lives, they still have a whole lot to be thankful for.

This book was a selection for the intergenerational book club that my nine-year old son and I are in together. I really like Southern literature for adults and I found this to be a very charming example of middle-grade Southern fiction. Part of our book club discussion was trying to figure out in what time period the book is set in. Some of us thought the 1950s or 60s while others thought maybe as long ago as the 1920s. That the time period is left vague serves to make this book timeless and one that present day children can relate too as well as children in the future.

The characters in Winn-Dixie were each very well developed, especially considering this book is narrated in first person by a child of around 10 years old. Her narration was authentic for a child of that age and still so descriptive. Each character served to teach Opal some sort of moral lesson but it wasn’t heavy handed or preachy. The ensemble cast of varied characters in a small town reminded me of the Fannie Flagg novels (for grown-ups) I read and she’s one of my favorite authors.

Everyone in the book club agreed that this is a great book.

Side note: We try to have snacks at our meetings that are tied in some way to the book we have read. For the discussion of this book we had a big jar of pickles and a bag of Werther’s Original candy. You’ll have to read the book to find out why!

For more reviews of books for children and teens, check out Booking Mama’s feature, Kid Konnection, posted on Saturdays. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, you can go to her site to leave a comment and your link .