(Intermediate) According to Miss Franny Block, the town librarian in Naomi, Florida, her great-grandfather made his fortune after the Civil War by manufacturing a candy ""that tasted sweet and sad at the same time."" Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni (called Opal) thinks this description of the candy sounds a lot like life, where ""the sweet and the sad were all mixed up together,"" too. It's also a pretty apt description of this engaging Southern-style first-person novel, featuring a girl and dog with a lot to offer each other. Children's literature is full of animal-to-the-rescue stories, but rarely does salvation come in the form of a creature with as much personality as Winn-Dixie. When Opal, who has just moved to town with her preacher father, discovers him cheerfully knocking over produce in the Winn-Dixie supermarket one day, it's obvious he's a stray. ""Mostly, he looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain."" His friendly manner, which involves pulling back his lips into what appears to be a smile, wins her over and, luckily, wins her father over as well. As if in gratitude for giving him a good home, Winn-Dixie immediately begins easing Opal's troubles, helping her make friends, who in turn help her come to terms with the fact that her mother abandoned her and probably won't be back. The story teeters on the edge of sentimentality and sometimes topples right in, but the characters are so likable, so genuine, it's an easy flaw to forgive. All in all, this is a gentle book about good people coming together to combat loneliness and heartache-with a little canine assistance. c.m.h. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice. India Opal's mama left when she was only three, and her father, "the preacher," is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who "looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain." But, this dog had a grin "so big that it made him sneeze." And, as Opal says, "It's hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor." Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she's been the librarian ever since. Then, there's nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he's let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it's funny, too. A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 4-6-In this audio version of Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Honor book (Candlewick, 2000), ten-year-old Opal Buloni's life is changed for the better when she takes in a stray dog she finds running wild in a grocery store. With Winn-Dixie (named after the store she found him in) by her side, Opal starts to make friends in the small town of Naomi, Florida where she has recently moved. More importantly, she is able to come to terms with her feelings about her mother who abandoned her years earlier. Performed by Tony award-winning actress Cherry Jones, this is one of the few audio books that actually transcends the book itself. The story is presented through Opal's first person point of view, and Cherry Jones becomes southern-twanged Opal, sharing the story of her first summer in Naomi. Jones' seamless performance is honest and believable, and she pulls listeners in like a master storyteller. This great production of an award-winning book definitely belongs in every library audio collection.-Lori Craft, Itasca Community Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Through the love she gains from her new pet, a girl gains the courage to ask her father about the mother who abandoned them. "In this exquisitely crafted first novel [a Newbery Honor book], each chapter possesses an arc of its own and reads almost like a short story in its completeness," said PW in our Best Books of 2000 citation. Ages 8-up. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr. 4^-6. 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