Because of Winn-Dixie

Written by: Kate DiCamillo

First line: My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.

Why you should read this book: A friendly dog is Opal's entry into a social life in her new home of Naomi, Florida, as well as a way into a new place in her father's confidence and regard. Loving a needy creature gives her the courage to ask her distant father to tell her ten things about the mother who abandoned her, and make friends with some rather unlikely characters, all of whom live with their own loneliness until Winn-Dixie helps bring them all together. This quiet, beautiful slice-of-life book tells the truth about children and adults, about love and loss, and about the social infrastructure that is created when the right elements come together in conviviality and joy.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You would take that mangy mutt to the pound and doom your daughter to a life of loneliness.