For such
a small book, there is a lot going on. Indian Opal goes into a grocery store
and a stray dog comes into the store. So, the dog does not have to go to the
pound, Opal decides to adopt the dog and call him Winn-Dixie. Opal takes the dog
home to her dad, who is a preacher. The reader finds out that Opal’s mom left
them when she was a baby. Opal does not remember her mom and wants to learn
more about her. She asks her dad about her mom and finds out ten things (ten
things because she is 10) about her mom. As Opal gets use to the new town she
is in, and befriends Winn-Dixie, she makes new friends and finds out that her
life is not the only one with problems. She befriends the old lady that works
at the library, who tells her stores. She befriends and works with Otis, the
man at the pet shop, who gives her a job to buy a collar and leash for
Winn-Dixie. She finds out that Otis had gone to jail for playing music on the
street. She also becomes friends with Gloria Dump, a lady that lives by herself.
People think that Gloria Dump is a witch, and when Winn-Dixie runs into
Gloria’s yard, she finds out that there is more to her life than just a
beautiful garden. Gloria shows Opal a tree with bottles hanging from the
branches. The bottles represent all the trouble she has caused. She even
befriends a little girl that she thought did not like her, but finds out that
the little girl lost her brother a year ago, and is having a tough time with
it. 
These can
all be very hard topics to talk about with students. Students might have
someone who has or is in jail. Students might be living with one parent because
of a death or leaving. How do you talk about those situations with your
students? I think that those situations are tough to talk about, but they
should be talked about. Talking about tough situations teaches others to have
empathy. But, how do you go about talking about tough situations? I would start
with explaining that there are different reasons, like different reasons why
people go to jail. I would ask talk about how people handle situations
differently. I would also ask how they would feel if something like a family
member leaving would make them feel. That is a tough subject, but could provide
interesting answers.
In the book,
Opal creates two different list. One list is ten things that her dad told her
about her mom. The second list was ten things that she knows about Winn-Dixie.
She created the Winn-Dixie list when she thought Winn-Dixie ran away during a
storm. I would ask students to write a list of ten things that are special
about someone in their family, a friend or even a pet. I think they could even
make several different lists. It would be interesting to see what things the
student sees as important when creating a list.
I liked this
book. For me this was a very easy read, but there was so much to create themes
and lessons around. I think students would like this book, and it would keep
them interested.
