Kids - Because of Winn Dixie

Summer reading requirement for entering Anthony’s new grade at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is “Because of Winn Dixie” by Kate DiCamillo. I saw Anthony reading it at the end of the last school year and he claimed to have read it after we recently checked a copy out of the local public library. In Texas we are on Central Standard Time. I didn’t see Anthony read it this summer but he is on Vampire Standard Time and stays up sometimes until 4 am so he may have read it

I just finished reading it and gave him a pop quiz to make sure he remembered the main characters, plot and incidents and he did very well. I also rented the movie from Blockbuster. Anthony and I watched it today. The movie screen play took artistic liberty with many scenes created from thin air. Something of a modern version of Pollyanna.

For some reason it triggered a memory of an incident when I was in the 7th grade. I had to do an oral book report and I had chosen a book called “The Wooden Horse” by Eric Williams. It was a true World War II story about British aviators set in the German Stalag Luft III POW camp who used a exercise work horse to conceal their tunnel digging to escape the camp. Three officers escaped the camp and found freedom in neutral Sweden.


I received an “A” on my oral book report but never read the book. The Sunday night before the oral book report was due the 1950 movie “The Wooden Horse” was on television so I watched the movie. Boys prefer to watch and visualize three dimensional things rather than read which is why video games are so popular.

I wish I had the Internet when I was young and below is a great World War II blog that notes this escape and a host of weaponry.

Wooden Horse

[Image credit of Winn Dixie to franklincollege.edu and Wooden Horse to anonymous-generaltopic.blogspot]