"Because of Winn-Dixie"--Kate DiCamillo's beloved, best-selling debut novel--a cherished classic that touches the hearts of readers of all ages
Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate DiCamillo's beloved, best-selling debut novel.
Kate
DiCamillo's first published novel, like Winn-Dixie himself, immediately
proved to be a keeper—a New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor
winner, the inspiration for a popular film, and most especially, a
cherished classic that touches the hearts of readers of all ages. It's
now available in a paperback digest format certain to bring this tale's
magic to an even wider circle of fans.
The summer Opal and her
father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the
Winn-Dixie supermarket—and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering
dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because
of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent
mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at
making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet
the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a
copy of WAR AND PEACE. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but
sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet
shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar.
Opal
spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends
and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps
because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that
friendship—and forgiveness—can sneak up on you like a sudden summer
storm.
Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo says
about stories, “When we read together, we connect. Together, we see the
world. Together, we see one another.” Born in Philadelphia, the author
lives in Minneapolis, where she faithfully writes two pages a day, five
days a week.
Kate DiCamillo's own journey is something of a
dream come true. After moving to Minnesota from Florida in her twenties,
homesickness and a bitter winter helped inspire Because of Winn-Dixie -
her first published novel, which, remarkably, became a runaway
bestseller and snapped up a Newbery Honor. "After the Newbery committee
called me, I spent the whole day walking into walls," she says. "I was
stunned. And very, very happy."
Kate DiCamillo says of writing BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, "I was living in
an apartment where no dogs were allowed. As a result, I was suffering
from a serious case of 'dog withdrawal.' One night, before I went to
sleep, I heard this little girl's voice (with a Southern accent) say, 'I
have a dog named Winn-Dixie.' When I woke up the next morning, the
voice was still talking, and I started writing down what India Opal
Buloni was telling me. The book is (I hope) a hymn of praise to dogs,
friendship, and the South."
Her second novel, The Tiger
Rising, went on to become a National Book Award Finalist. Since then,
the master storyteller has written for a wide range of ages, including
two comical early-chapter-book series - Mercy Watson, which stars a
"porcine wonder" with an obsession for buttered toast, and Bink &
Gollie, which celebrates the tall and short of a marvelous friendship -
as well as a luminous holiday picture book, Great Joy.
Her
novel, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, won the 2014
Newbery Medal. It was released in fall 2013 to great acclaim, including
five starred reviews, and was an instant New York Times bestseller.
Flora & Ulysses is a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric,
endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format - a novel
interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page
illustrations, all rendered in black and white by up-and-coming artist
K. G. Campbell. It was a 2013 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner and was
chosen by Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Common Sense
Media as a Best Book of the Year.
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