Your small acts of kindness and patience could be a lifeline for someone you hardly know, for years to come. So, fellow grownups, remember this when you interact with a child - any child. There is a huge lesson for adults in this book: the adults Raymie relies on to ground her as she deals with the very recent departure of her father are not close family - it's a lifesaving instructor from the previous summer, her father's receptionist, a nurse at a hospital ER. Reading together also allowed us to talk about life in the 70s, without cell phones, etc. But I have to admit my daughter surprised me with her understanding and maturity. I was glad we read this together so we could stop and talk about the choices the adults made, as well as the kids. Or we're too busy dealing with these major life events and forget to check in on our children. It sounds over the top but truthfully it's not - the book acknowledges the reality tweens see around them, which we adults hope to gloss over. Two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo returns to her roots with a moving, masterful story of an unforgettable summer friendship. While all her novels touch on adult themes, this one really packs a punch - affairs, poverty, abuse, aging and death. Her school has assigned both Winn Dixie and Edward Tulane in recent years and she loved them both so we're more or less reading the DiCamillo canon together now. My daughter, who just turned 11, and I still enjoy reading together.
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