Because of Winn Dixie was a great little book. It was happy and carefree while at the same time a little bit sad. India Opal was so loving and accepting of everyone she met. There were a few times, for instance when she met the Dewberry boys, that she was mean at first. But it was only because they were mean first, and as soon as someone told her to give them a chance she did. This book did a great job of showing people how beneficial to place themselves in other peoples’ shoes. By that I mean you don’t know why people are the way they are until you know what they have been through. At first Opal thinks that Amanda is just a mean little girl, and she doesn’t like her. Later she finds out that Amanda’s little brother died the year before and that is the reason why she is so “squint-faced” or mean. After Opal finds this out she sympathizes with Amanda and eventually becomes her friend. So many other little life lessons are packed into this tiny book. Gloria Dump teaches Opal not to judge people by what they have done in the past, but what they are doing right now. I like that, because people can change for the better. Franny the librarian teaches Opal and Amanda about war and how devastating and sad it is. I liked how the Littmus Lozenges reminded everyone in the book of something different, while all of them were sad. I love the quote Opal says when she is eating her lozenge at night, “I lay there and thought about how life was like a Littmus Lozenge, how the sweet and the sad were all mixed up together and how hard it was to separate them out. It was confusing.” Lastly, I love how many times in this book one random act of kindness completely changed someone’s character. For example when Opal decided to wave at the Dewberry boys instead of say mean things, they were surprised and waved back instead of picking on her. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book.