Because of Winn Dixie

I read Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. This book received the Newbery Medal in 2001 and the Texas Bluebonnet Award in 2002. I think I might have read this book when I was younger, but I couldn't remember all the details. This is a super sweet book, and for me it had a lot of similarities to Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. A big part of this is because they're both about a dog, but there are even similarities in the language of the book. Both books include a southern twang when the characters speak. Because of Winn Dixie is about a girl named Opal who has recently moved to a new town, but soon after moving she takes in a stray dog that she names Winn Dixie. Winn Dixie changes Opal's whole world, and Opal starts making all sorts of friends because of this amazing dog. Another big part of the story is Opal discovering things about her mom that she never knew. Opal's mom left when Opal was only three. The book overall follows Opal and Winn Dixie along in their adventures, and the friends they make along the way. I think the appropriate grade level for this book would be third grade to eighth grade. I would read this book in my classroom. One activity I would use from this book is for each student to create their own candy similar to the littmus lozenges in the book. Each candy would have it's candy flavor aspect, but would have an emotion too.

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