DiCamillo, Kate. (2000). Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Brief Annotation: Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni has just moved to a new town, finding herself friendless and lonely. A trip to the local grocery store results in Opal’s adoption of a mangy, stray dog whom she names Winn-Dixie. With his big heart and toothy smile, Winn-Dixie helps pave the way for many unexpected friendships for Opal, and serves as a bridge to a closer relationship between Opal and her father.
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction
Grade Level: 2-5
Readers who will like this: Dog lovers, animal lovers, children who like stories about friendship, and children who are ready to read chapter books.
Response/Rating (1-4): 4. Prepare to be charmed and delighted with this heartwarming story about friendship, acceptance and love between a girl, her dog, her new-found friends, and her father.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: Why is it important to have friends?
Reading Strategies Connection: Reading Logs (Tompkins, p. 100) would be a wonderful reading strategy to use as a learning tool with this story. Students can explore their thoughts and reflections in a reading log by writing and drawing pictures in response to the ideas and emotions that arise during each chapter of the story. The story deals with issues such as loneliness, friendship, acceptance of the faults of others, father/daughter relationships, and the heartbreak of an absent mother, which will give students a vast variety of topics to reflect upon.
Brief Annotation: Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni has just moved to a new town, finding herself friendless and lonely. A trip to the local grocery store results in Opal’s adoption of a mangy, stray dog whom she names Winn-Dixie. With his big heart and toothy smile, Winn-Dixie helps pave the way for many unexpected friendships for Opal, and serves as a bridge to a closer relationship between Opal and her father.
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction
Grade Level: 2-5
Readers who will like this: Dog lovers, animal lovers, children who like stories about friendship, and children who are ready to read chapter books.
Response/Rating (1-4): 4. Prepare to be charmed and delighted with this heartwarming story about friendship, acceptance and love between a girl, her dog, her new-found friends, and her father.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: Why is it important to have friends?
Reading Strategies Connection: Reading Logs (Tompkins, p. 100) would be a wonderful reading strategy to use as a learning tool with this story. Students can explore their thoughts and reflections in a reading log by writing and drawing pictures in response to the ideas and emotions that arise during each chapter of the story. The story deals with issues such as loneliness, friendship, acceptance of the faults of others, father/daughter relationships, and the heartbreak of an absent mother, which will give students a vast variety of topics to reflect upon.
You make a good case for the response activity you've recommended. Books with personal topics are ripe for writing about, as you've noted.
ReplyDeleteYour pre-reading question is well-chosen, too, because it captures an essential question in the story.
Double-check the genre classification. "Animal Story" is not a genre in Galda, so try to figure out the specific category in which this book belongs.