Because of Winn-Dixie Review

Because of Winn-Dixie, although not the most complex or intriguing book, is a gentle story that is sweet, simple, and lyrical. The story doesn't have that much of a plot or a protagonist, but throughout the story India Opal captivates the reader with her charm and her distinctive voice. She's smart, funny, and incredibly honest. Many readers can relate to how lonely she felt in the beginning due to moving to a new town and not knowing anybody. But throughout the book she makes new friends by opening up to others and to always look for the good in people. Never judge a book by it's cover! On a complete side note, I love that Opal taught Winn-Dixie how to look through a building window in order to see Opal at all times. So cute!

  

The book is full of sweet and humorous events; the first of which occurred when Winn-Dixie chased after a mouse during church while the congregation clapped, hollered, and pointed. And then...kind of like a cat, Winn-Dixie dropped the mouse at the preacher's feet who responded by picking it up and saying "Let us pray...for this mouse." I'm not sure how well students would pick up on this, but it was interesting that Winn-Dixie begins making friends but they're not her age. It takes her a while to open up and make friends with kids who are her own age. Something that I loved about the characters in the story were some of those names just make you think of living in the South. Nice to meet you, Sweetie Pie. Opal and Winn-Dixie's time with Gloria Dump were some of my favorite. The writing was perfect and I could easily picture the town witch (but not actually). She ties bottles (whiskey bottles, wine bottles, beer bottles, you name it!) to a tree to hold the ghosts of her past, has crinkly brown skin, no teeth (except for her false ones to eat with), terrible eyesight, but perfect listening skills. I loved all of the lesson that Opal learns with help from Gloria: you should judge people based on what they're doing in the present, everyone makes mistakes and has their own "ghosts", and everyone needs to be loved. To top it off, many funny moments throughout the book were thanks to Gloria. 

"My name’s Gloria Dump,” she said. “Ain’t that a terrible last name? Dump?” 

“My last name is Buloni,” I said. “Sometimes the kids at school back home in Watley called me ‘Lunch Meat.’” 

“Hah!” Gloria Dump laughed. “What about this dog? What you call him?” 

“Winn-Dixie,” I said. Winn-Dixie thumped his tail on the ground. He tried smiling, but it was hard with his mouth all full of peanut butter. 

“Winn-Dixie?” Gloria Dump said. “You mean like the grocery store?”

 “Yes ma’am,” I said. 

“Whooooeee,” she said. “That takes the strange-name prize, don’t it?”

 “Yes ma’am,” I said. 

“I was just fixing to make myself a peanut-butter sandwich,” she said. “You want one, too?"

Descriptions throughout the book are perfect and add so much to the story. My favorite would have to be when Amanda, Opal, and Winn-Dixie try a Littmus Lozenge. When asked how she likes it, Amanda says it reminds her of something sad. Now how would candy do that? Gloria tries one and also says that, "It taste sweet. But it also taste like people leaving." Then the preacher says it tastes like melancholy. Everyone thinks it tastes sweet but also sad. So how does a candy make you sad? Well here's a short version of the story: Littmus, a young soldier returning home from the Civil War, is devastated when he realizes that he has lost absolutely everything. After mourning he craves something sweet; he went on to create a candy both sweet and sad. Just one of the cute stories that adds to Opal and Winn-Dixie's adventures and paints a continuous picture.

There's so much to this story and so much that can be discussed with students. How are Opal and Winn-Dixie alike? Have you ever judged someone too quickly? If you changed your opinion what caused that to happen? Did anything make you laugh in the book? How is life like a Littmus Lozenge? You could play a Who Said It? game with an entire class and play it like Bingo! This story is simple but deep all at the same time and, I think, is a great book for mid-elementary students to explore.

Wonder Review Part 2

Start to finish, Raquel J. Palacio weaves a story full of complex issues; all the while somehow managing to capture a multitude of different character's personalities and emotions. 

 A lot of events happen in the second half of the book and one of the most significant parts was reading and learning more about Jack. During the Julian and Jack war, it was sad to see Julian try to turn everyone against Jack just so he would stop being friends with Auggie. I loved when Jack comments to Auggie and Summer how weird it is to have people pretend that you don't exist. Auggie replies with welcome to his world. I love those little scenes! This section was a turning point for Jack's character. For so much of the book he was painted as a betrayer and a villain; we finally see that he may not be nearly as mean as what we originally thought. It was also interesting to see how Palacio adds in a bit of socioeconomic tension between Jack and the other students. Jack has more than the usual middle school issues to deal with, his chapter adds in how hard it can be to be a kid who has to deal with kids like Julian who come from families with much more financial wealth. 

One little part which I think could be a key discussion point for students is when Jack makes a point that it's not only the "jerks" who are mean to Auggie; even the kids that you would consider to be nice are mean. Sometimes nice kids, even adults, don't realize how things they say can be taken in a very hurtful manner. Another interesting part was Miranda’s section! She made up so many stories that involved Auggie just to be pitied or be the center of attention. I understand that she was going through a tough time dealing with her absent and broken family but that’s not a good enough reason to turn into someone who lies consistently. How do you trust them? This could be an interesting debate with students. Do you think it was okay for Miranda to lie? How would you defend your claim?

A little wish that I have for this book is that we could have read parts with Auggie's mom and dad's point of view. It would have been interesting to read about their worries. Is my son being bullied? did something happen on Halloween? Why is Via not speaking with her friends? Reading about a parent's point of view could bring up lots of good discussion points with students. Do my parents ever think similar things? Does that change how you feel about certain situations? This may be one of those books that I NEVER go see the motion picture of. I definitely don't think that any movie could capture the different sides, the multiple problems, or the heart of this book. Because of how much the book entails, it can be used in so many thematic units! Courage, bullying, friendship, love, perseverance, lying, etc. Even doing a jigsaw where different groups analyze different parts of the book might help students understand the text on a deeper level.  

I was trying to pick a favorite character in this book but I just can't decide. Auggie of course because of his character and personality, and I love Summer for being so loving, Jack for finding himself, and I could go on and on. I love, love, love Auggie's Dad! His conversation with Auggie about the astronaut helmet is one of my absolute favorites in the whole book. It's so sweet, sad, and tugs at your heart strings. "Come on, Auggie, please try to understand...You were wearing that helmet all the time. And the real, real, real, real truth is: I missed seeing your face, Auggie. I know you don't always love it, but you have to understand...I love it. I love this face of yours, Auggie, completely and passionately. And it kind of broke my heart that you were always covering it up." Oof what a moment! I also loved the entire camping part...full of so many good moments and friendships changing. Doing a character analysis in pairs or small groups would be quite fun, especially since there are so many major characters in the book. Read this book! It has so many other funny and heartwarming moments and appeals to readers young and old.