Opal spends a lot of time at the library, which is a “little old house full of books,” and run by Miss Franny Block (40). Opal makes friends with the town librarian when she takes Winn-Dixie with her to the library, and the dog, anxious about losing sight of Opal, stands on his hind legs in order to see her through the window. Miss Franny Block screams when she sees Winn-Dixie because she thinks that Winn-Dixie is a bear. This triggers a frightful memory of a past time a bear had visited the library. After she screams, Opal reassures Miss Franny Block that Winn-Dixie is her dog and helps her up from her position hidden on the floor behind her desk.
When Opal hears about the bear from Miss Franny Block’s past, she asks to be told the story of the previous encounter. She also asks if Winn-Dixie can enter the library to hear the story too. Before the librarian can say no, Opal retrieves Winn-Dixie from outside. Winn-Dixie enters the library and lies down at Miss Franny Block’s feet, and the librarian can’t help but to pet the dog.
Miss Franny Block begins the story in her childhood. When she was a young girl around Opal’s age, her father offered her anything she wanted for her birthday. Miss Franny Block asked for a library, which she received and worked in every day since. According to the librarian, Florida was wild in those days. One day, when she was reading a book in her library, a shadow crossed her desk. She asked the figure if it needed any help, but looked up when she noticed its smell. She threw the book she was reading at the bear and it took it and ran. Although Miss Franny Block was teased mercilessly for her story of the bear, she imagines that she is the only one left who remembers that bear: “All my friends, everyone I knew when I was young, they are all dead and gone” (50). Opal empathizes with the librarian and offers that the three of them—Opal, Winn-Dixie, and Miss Franny Block—be friends.
Winn-Dixie begins to look healthier, and Opal decides that he needs a leash. She finds a red leather collar and leash at the local pet store, Gertrude’s Pets. Opal can’t afford them, so she asks the attendant, named Otis, if she can be put on an installment plan in order to pay them off. When Otis hesitates, Opal, noticing the shop’s dusty floor, asks if she could instead work off the expense. She tells Otis that she is trustworthy, but that Winn-Dixie will have to join her in the shop. Otis hesitates because a store parrot, named Gertrude after the owner and very loud, doesn’t like dogs.
When Winn-Dixie enters the store, Gertrude considers him for a moment and then flies over to him and lands on his head. In response, Otis tells Opal that she can start her new job on Monday. When they leave the store, Opal tells Winn-Dixie that he is “better at making friends that anybody [she] has ever known” (57). Outside of the pet shop, they bump into Sweetie Pie Thomas, who is sucking on her knuckle and staring into the shop. She tells Opal that she has seen her and Winn-Dixie around and that she wants a dog just like Winn-Dixie. She asks Opal if she would like to come to her birthday party in September. In one day, Opal has made a new friend and gotten invited to her first party. She doesn’t “feel so lonely anymore” (58).
Opal also meets Gloria Dump through Winn-Dixie. One day Opal is riding home from Gertrude’ Pets on her bike. As she passes the house where Dunlap and Stevie Dewberry live, they get on their bikes and start to follow her. They ride behind her and whisper to each other. When Winn-Dixie races up to Gloria Dump’s property, the Dewberry brothers warn Opal to watch out, because Winn-Dixie is approaching the witch’s house. Winn-Dixie doesn’t heed Opal’s calls but barrels ahead and into Dump’s overgrown yard. The Dewberry brothers get off their bikes at the edge of the property. They tell Opal that the witch is probably eating her dog right now, in response to which Opal tells the boys to get lost. She decides to follow Winn-Dixie into the yard.
As she enters the “jungle,” Opal hears a voice laugh and proclaim, “This dog sure likes to eat” (62). She turns a corner and sees Winn-Dixie eating out of Gloria's hand. Opal introduces herself to Gloria, and the two commiserate over their unfortunate last names (as Opal’s last name, Buloni, has led to her being teased about lunch meat in the past). They agree that Winn-Dixie takes the strange-name prize. Gloria offers Opal a peanut butter sandwich and asks to hear everything about Opal, since she is blind and so that she might see the girl with her heart.
Opal tells Gloria her story, and as she speaks, she can feel Gloria “listening with all her heart, and it felt good” (68). When she finishes, Gloria predicts that Opal has inherited her mother’s green thumb, so she offers Opal the opportunity to plant a tree in her yard. Opal decides she will come back soon to check on the tree and to see Gloria.
Analysis
In this section, Opal makes her first friends in Naomi. They are all unique characters, but they share a key set of traits. Miss Franny Block is an old woman. She has been the town librarian for most of her life. In her old age, she has lost most of the friends she had, so she is lonely when she meets Opal and Winn-Dixie. She is grateful for an opportunity to share the stories she has collected over the years. Otis is a quiet and matter of fact person. He is so shy that he won't look up from the countertop for the majority of his conversation with Opal. In contrast to Otis is Sweetie Pie Thomas, who is incredibly outgoing and desperate for a dog of her own. Gloria Dump is an old woman who lives alone. She is blind and very kind. All of these strangers are agreeable to Opal and Winn-Dixie's antics. They are quickly charmed by the smart young girl and her lively friend. They are each lonely in their own ways.
In this section, we learn that Opal's self-perception is intricately tied to her mother. When she is with Miss Franny Block, she tells her she wants to hear her story about the bear because she likes stories just like her mother did. Her loneliness due to the loss of her mother helps her empathize with Miss Franny Block. She thinks that the woman looks "sad and old and wrinkled," and then thinks that this is the way she feels sometimes, "being friendless in a new town and not having a mama to comfort me" (49). Later, it is the fact that her mother had a green thumb that encourages Opal to plant a tree with Gloria. She wants to emulate her mother as much as possible in order to make sure that she doesn't forget her.
It is through Winn-Dixie that Opal makes her new friends. We learn more about his character in this section. Winn-Dixie smiles by pulling his teeth back. Opal calls the dog's ability to smile a talent of his. He is capable of feeling emotion, and he demonstrates pride in looking less like a stray. He also has his own opinions, demonstrated by his show of approval of the leash and collar that Opal picks out. Winn-Dixie is an intelligent creature who can change his behavior to fit the situation. In the library, Winn-Dixie is "smiling" and doesn't hesitate to approach Miss Franny Block. At the pet store, however, Winn-Dixie is more cautious. He is careful in approaching Gertrude the parrot, and Gertrude accepts him even though she has a bad history with dogs. This ensures that he and Opal will be allowed to come back to the pet store. Winn-Dixie is also beginning to encourage the preacher to open up. Opal is shocked when the preacher laughs in response to Winn-Dixie opening his mouth to make it look like he is laughing.
Opal and Winn-Dixie's relationship continues to grow. Opal is charmed by Winn-Dixie's ability to make friends with anyone he meets. Over the course of their first days together, Opal and Winn-Dixie adopt similar interests. Being invited into the library gives Winn-Dixie the opportunity both to stay close to Opal and to nap in a cool place while she browses for books. When Otis hires Opal, the two leave the pet store smiling at each other. When Winn-Dixie runs into Gloria's overgrown yard, he challenges Opal for the first time. She is scared of the stories that the Dewberrys have told her. This instance is also different from the others because it is the first time that Winn-Dixie entered a place without Opal having entered first and paved the way for his entrance. Because of this, Opal hesitates at the edge of Gloria's property. Eventually, Opal realizes that she would rather risk having to deal with a witch than to lose Winn-Dixie.
In this section, we are given a closer look at Opal's character as well. Although she is a friendly kid, she is less receptive to the Dewberry brothers than she is to anyone else. Opal is respectful to the people she meets that are older to her, and she is kind to Sweetie Pie Thomas. But the Dewberry brothers offer Opal no opportunity for friendship, and Opal makes no moves to seek this friendship. When she bikes past their house, they get on their bikes to follow her, but they stay a distance away and only whisper to themselves. When they warn her away from Gloria's property, Opal tells them to "get lost." We see Opal act rudely for the first time in the novel. We can infer that Opal is very distressed by Winn-Dixie's disappearance. She is already very attached to the dog and would be devastated to ever lose him.
