I picked up "Because of Winn-Dixie" recently and read it to my kids. Matthew had really liked "The Tale of Despereaux" by the local author, Kate DiCamillo. Personally I never cared for Despereaux. Maybe I didn't like it because I kept coming into the middle of the story; maybe I just didn't like the narrator's tone. When I picked up Winn-Dixie I had very low expectations. I figured the kids would like it and I would just endure it.
I pleasantly surprised. I really liked this book.
It is a great kid's book. The story moves along nicely, the narrator doesn't talk down to the reader, the characters are nicely drawn, and the story is really compelling.
Perhaps this reveals how much I am in touch with my feminine side, but when Winn-Dixie was in some minor danger I was genuinely concerned. I can't recall feeling this intensely about a fictional non-human character since reading "Old Yeller".
I still find myself thinking about the characters from the book weeks later. How many of us are like the preacher; turtles too afraid to come out of our shell? How many of us are like the Gloria Dump; listening to tinkling of the empty bottles hanging from the tree? How many of us are like the absent mother; running from the things in life you really love? How many of us are like Winn-Dixie; possessed of pathological fears, going crazy in every thunderstorm? Aspects of each of the characters reminded me a little too much of myself.
I don't have my copies handy, but have read both of those books and Tiger Rising. One of the books has a wonderful description of a person with a "pinched-up face" or something like that.
I found it terribly descriptive and have found it a useful phrase occasionally when trying to describe certain individuals.
Both of my children and my cousin's three kids found the books to be very engaging.
If you haven't read Tiger Rising, I highly recommend it.
My kids lost interest, probably because we didn't read every evening. I finished on my own. I was a complete mess toward the end - tears everywhere. Beautiful story.