Book vs Movie: Because of Winn Dixie By Kate DiCamillo

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Because of Winn Dixie is one of my favorite books, so naturally I wanted to watch the movie as well!  Because of Winn Dixie, the book, is written by Kate DiCamillo.  The movie, which shares the same title, was released in August 2005. 

There are a lot of similarities between the movie and the book.  They both share the same story line, a little girl named India Opal that finds a scruffy dog in a Winn Dixie store and then brings him home to stay with her and her father, the preacher.  Also, many of the characters and stories are the same.

However, there are some differences between the two.  First, even though many of the characters in the story are similar, there is one exception.  The landlord of the trailer park where India Opal lives with her father, the preacher, was never mentioned in the book.  The movie portrays the landlord as a man that does not want the dog on his premises, but by the end of the movie he changes his mind about Winn Dixie.

Another major difference is that in the book the preacher tells Opal a lot more information about her mother, but not as much information in the movie.  In the book, her father told Opal exactly ten things about her mom, including that her mother liked to drink. It explained a lot about why her mother left, and although hinted to in the movie, it was really never discussed.

I did enjoy the movie and the book.  I especially enjoyed how they both show love and the importance of friends and families.