Do you have a dog? Or a great bond with them? Well so does India Opal Buloni, a 10 year old girl known from the book “Because of Winn-Dixie” Novel by Kate Dicamillo, published in 2000. This novel isn't only known as a book but also known for being made into a movie 5 years after being published.  

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“Because of Winn-Dixie” Is a book that starts off with Opal and her preacher dad moving to Naomi, Florida. Opal wasn't very happy about moving, she was missing her old friends, home, and town. She didn't have it easy at first because besides her moving into a new town, she didn't have a good bond with her parents, her mom left her when she was little and her dad is very distant to her. 

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Her dad is the only one that takes care of her and has been with Opal her whole life but she can't really view him as a dad, she views him more as a preacher because he always spends too much time preaching. 

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Later in the book, Opal goes to a grocery store named “Winn-Dixie” and that is where her life was going to change. She sees the workers running around being chaotic, she is curious and checks out what's happening just to find out there's a stray dog being chased around the store. She befriends him by claiming that it was her dog just to save him from the store owners sending him to the animal shelter. She names the dog after the store where she met him, she ends up keeping Winn-Dixie and creates a great bond.

After meeting her new friend they started going around town and making more new friends. She made a lot of impact in people's life by showing the power of friendship, belonging, and acceptance of others. For example, they befriended the pet store owner by visiting the animals. They befriended the librarian, Miss Franny, by accidentally scaring her. And lastly they met Gloria Dump by Winn-Dixie running into her backyard and Opal chasing him trying to get him out of there. From there those amazing friendships began. Because of Winn-Dixie and these new friendships, Opal starts to allow herself to trust, and accept people's love and friendship. 

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In the end, Opal is no longer sad and becomes happy with the way her life is, she finds joy with the people who are in her life. She matured and made peace with her mother not being present in her life which helped her cope with the abandonment her mother left her. She repairs the relationship she has with her father, and can see the growth in herself. All because of Winn-Dixie.

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