I picked this book up late Thursday night thinking I would just read a few chapters, but I ended up reading the entire book in one night! It was so good that I could not put it down! I loved the relationship between India Opal and Winn-Dixie. I always had a dog growing up and I can definitely relate to Opal. I was an only child too and I always thought of my animals as siblings because they were such a big part of my life. This book teaches children about how to deal with a situation that might seem hard to understand, like why Opal's mom left her and her dad. There are many students who may read this book and be able to relate to Opal's life. One of my favorite lines in the book was a quote by Gloria Dump. Gloria said, " There ain't no way you can hold on to something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it." I felt like this statement was so profound, yet worded in a way that young children could comprehend the full meaning of it. I also loved the idea of acceptance that seems to permeate this book. For example, it does not matter that Otis is mentally challenged, or that the other kids think Gloria is a witch, Opal and Winn-Dixie are friends with them anyway. I think that this sense of acceptance is a very important concept for kids to learn at a young age, and the author does a good job of hinting at it subtly.