In the book Because Of Winn Dixie by Dicamillo Kate, Opal takes a dog outside of a store and names it, after the store Winn Dixie because the wild dog responds to it. Opal goes on her life now with her dog Winn Dixie, But ever since Opal made him her own She finally gets some new friends. The Genre of this book is realistic fiction because nothing really unrealistic happens in this book other than Winn Dixie giving people warm smiles without realizing it. I like this book because of the way this book makes it seem like the area is calm and Opal's world is full of good people but is still like real life with bad things happening to them. Eventually when Opal is at her happiest moments eventually she finally gets more information on someone who was important in her life after someone else disappeared for some time. The characters in this story makes you realize that you could be friends with anyone if you try. I believe the theme of this book is that kindness can take you anywhere because Opal was very nice to other people and she got a job and many new friends that can accompany her from time to time. Dicamillo Kate did a very good job at describing to make you visualize the area and make you think that you are there with them and you can feel things that are happening as well.

 In the beginning of the book they tell you about our main character India Opal Buloni who is ten years old and just moved to Naomi, Florida and talks about how her preacher father sent her to the store to buy macaroni and cheese, white rice, and tomatoes. The setting of this book is in the summer where all kids are out of school and are probably at home or outside. When she was looking for tomatoes she saw the manager that looked like a tomato because he was " red-faced screaming and waving his arms around.". Opal soon finds out that the reason the manager is screaming is because a "dirty dog" was inside the store. The manager possibly has cynophobia ( the fear of dogs) and it was probably ten times more scary to him than to any normal person. Opal describes the dog as ugly and big when she first saw it. But Opal doesn't want anything happening to the dog so she instead makes the dog her own. But before Opal knew it she has already gotten a great friend that will bring surprises along the way. I enjoy the plot of this story they have very good set-up on how they meet and show how nice the dog really is in the first few pages. When I first started reading this I could already tell that Opal was going to have a lot of luck.

A good thing about this book is that the character development was very good. The characters had normal people backstories and no over the top things. There were good things and sad things about them as well. Also Kate Dicamillo did a very well job at describing the places Winn Dixie and Opal went such as Gloria's home or the library. Either way the way Kate Dicamillo described the places made me feel like I was there and could see what was going on. My favorite character in this book is Gloria. She was very sweet and I really enjoyed when Opal went to see Gloria so she would share her stories with Gloria and then back and forth. At page 119 Opal shares a book she got for Gloria which I think is the sweetest thing ever. The thing that I didn't like about this book was that they didn't tell more about certain characters like the two boys and Gloria. What was their story? What happened when Gloria was younger? Why did the India not bother spending time with the boys and then find out what they were actually doing in the plot in the first place? I really dislike that and I wish the author would've told us more or made a second book about them but I was kind of left confused about the other characters.

At the end of this book it ends with all the characters singing and India listening to them. I honestly had so many emotions at the end of this book because it was very good ending with all the characters happy and not upset. But it makes me think of one question… Would you do the same thing that Opal did? Would you take care of dog that was "dirty, big, and ugly" and make it into your great pal? Would your parent allow you to have a dog like that? Do you think the dog would like you too? I think you should read this book not just because I think it is good but because I think this book will show you how far kindness can take you and how well it can be used around others to make many friends. This book is very sweet and the characters act like any normal person but the authors takes that and makes it nicer. In general this book will be a memory in your mind that will make you want a dog and will possibly help you make more friends, and get more great times in your life without realizing it. In conclusion the book Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo is a an outstanding heartwarming book.