Introduction by Ann Patchett When Kate DiCamillo wrote Because of Winn-Dixie she was working at a book warehouse picking books and filling orders and because her shift started at seven o'clock in the morning she set her alarm for four thirty so she could have two hours to write I had wanted to write for a long time and in those early-morning hours before I left for the warehouse I finally finally settled in to doing the work of writing she told me After trying short stories and picture books she started a novel about a girl named Opal who rescues a scruffy dog who's afraid of thunderstorms a dog who never wants to be left alone Opal understood this since she had issues with being left herself From the moment their eyes meet across the crowded produce section of the Winn-Dixie grocery store Opal knows she and the dog are meant for each other Opal calls him and he comes to her I think it is the central fantasy of childhood and maybe of life that you alone can see the goodness and potential in someone whose goodness and potential is invisible to everyone else Because Opal loves Winn-Dixie it's suddenly obvious that he's a remarkable dog and because Winn-Dixie is devoted to Opal people know that Opal must be an exceptional kid This is the transforming magic of love I knew I had done something big Opal thinks when she rescues Winn-Dixie Winn-Dixie by telling the grocery store manager that he's her dog And maybe something stupid too But I couldn't help it What she didn't know was that Winn-Dixie would rescue her as well He saves her from loneliness He stands by her side as she learns to listen It's by listening that Opal finally makes friends in the new town where she and her father have moved This is a book about taking a chance on something that winds up saving your life and it's also a book about growth and change That's one of the things that makes this anniversary edition so special The story you are now holding has changed since its original publication When the book was first written twenty years ago Opal went to the library looking for something to 5
