Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo

Characters Descrip ons

India Opal Buloni - narrator/story teller (1st person)
- named Opal a er grandma
- preacher’s daughter
- mother le when she was young
- age 10
- lot of similari es with mom (likes running, stories, etc.)
- moved to Florida and not a lot of friends (lonely)

Winn-Dixie - big stray dog

- dirty, smelly, ugly with bald patches
- happy and smiles a lot
- named a er a grocery store
- good at making friends
- hates being alone (howls)
- pathological fear to thunderstorms

Preacher - like a turtle hiding in his shell

- so hearted and nice, funny
- busy with preaching
Miss Franny Block - Opal’s rst friend in Naomi
- Old Librarian at the Herman W Block Memorial Library
- Had a bad experience with a bear when she was young
Other Old pinch-faced Amanda Wilkinson who’s not to kind to Opal
O s the store manager at Gertrude’s Pets
Gertrude the parrot (named a er the owner)
Swee e Pie Thomas who is 6 and wants a pet
Dunlap and Stevie: two bald siblings
Gloria Dump: not a witch but an old lady who can’t see very well but
a good listener
Se ng Naomi, Florida
Winn Dixie grocery store
The Open Arms Bap st Church
Herman W Block Memorial Library
Gertrude’s Pets

Teacher: Mr. Daniel

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 Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo

Chapter Summary Thoughts/Predic ons

- Opal goes to a grocery store and
saves a stray dog from going to the
pound
1 - names the dog Winn Dixie and brings
him home

- Opal persuades her dad to keep Winn

Dixie by saying the dog is a Less
Fortunate
2 - The preacher sees Winn Dixie’s smile
and welcomes him home

- Opal washes Winn Dixie and talks to

him
- She relates with the dog saying how
3 they’re both orphans and don’t have
many friends
- Opal requests 10 things about her
mom because she is 10 years old

- The preacher tells Opal 10 things

about her mom
- 1. funny
4 - 2. red hair and freckles
- 3. green thumb
- 4. fast runner
- 5. bad cook
- 6. loved stories
- 7. knew the constella ons
- 8. hated being a preacher’s wife
- 9. she drank
- 10. loved India Opal
- Opal writes them all down

Teacher: Mr. Daniel

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 Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo

⁃ Winn Dixie doesn’t like to be

left alone

⁃ Winn Dixie goes to the Open

5 Arms Baptist Church and
starts howling and they let him
in the church service

⁃ Winn Dixie sees a mouse and

catches it and everyone
applauds

⁃ Opal tells God she’s lonely

because she doesn’t know
that many kids
⁃ Miss Franny Block thought
Winn Dixie was a bear

⁃ Winn Dixie comes into the

6 library and Miss Franny shares
how she had a bad
experience with a bear at the
library

⁃ Miss Franny tells how her

father was rich when she was
young

7 ⁃ She asked for a library and

she got one

⁃ A bear came in the library and

she threw a book at it

⁃ The bear ran away with the

book

⁃ Opal, Winn Dixie and Miss

Franny become friends

⁃ Amanda Wilkinson comes in

and tries to get Opal and Winn
Dixie in trouble but Miss
Franny takes their side

Teacher: Mr. Daniel

 Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo

⁃ Opal gets a collar and a leash

for Winn Dixie at Gertrude’s
Pets but doesn’t have enough
8 money

⁃ She negotiates with Otis, the

worker, and o ers to work at
the store to get the collar and
leash.

⁃ Otis is worried Gertrude the

parrot won’t like Winn Dixie
but Winn Dixie proves him
wrong and Otis agrees to let
her work at the store

⁃ On the way back they meet 6

year old Sweetie Pie Thomas
who pets Winn Dixie and
invites them to her party

⁃ Opal tells Winn Dixie he’s

really good at making friends
as she feels happy and less
lonely
⁃ Dunlap and Stevie bother
Opal and tells her the witch is
going to eat Winn Dixie when
9 he disappears in a garden.

⁃ Opal follows him and meets

Gloria Dump and tells her
everything about her.

⁃ Gloria turns out to be a good

listener and suggests Opal
might be good at gardening
10 just like her mother.

⁃ She gives Opal a tree to plant

and tells her she’s welcome
anytime.

⁃ Opal tells what happened to

the preacher and goes to bed
w/ Winn Dixie

Teacher: Mr. Daniel

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 Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo

⁃ There’s a thunderstorm and

the preacher says Winn Dixie
has a pathological fear of
11 thunderstorms

⁃ He warns Opal to keep him

close so he doesn’t runaway
during another thunderstorm

⁃ Opal and Winn Dixie go to the

pet store to work and nd Otis
playing music for the pets

12 ⁃ When Otis stopped playing all

the animals including the dog
went wild so Opal tells Otis to
keep playing

⁃ Otis tells Opal he was in jail

but seems to be a nice man

⁃ Sweetie Pie saw Otis playing

music and thinks he is
capable of magic
⁃ Opal and Winn Dixie
(sometimes Sweetie Pie)
started going to the pet store
13 early in the morning to hear
Otis play music

⁃ The bald siblings kept picking

on Opal for hanging out with
old ladies and Opal got angry

⁃ Gloria asks why Opal doesn’t

befriend them and Opal tells
her they’re boys and ignorant
and goes on to tell Gloria
stories

Teacher: Mr. Daniel

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