Opal claims a stray dog loose in the Winn-Dixie grocery store to prevent the manager from sending him to the pound.

The preacher agrees to keep Winn-Dixie after the dog places his head on the preacher's lap and stares into his eyes.

The preacher tells Opal 10 things about her absent mother, including that she could not stop drinking.

Winn-Dixie catches a live mouse in his mouth during a church prayer, disrupting the entire service.

Miss Franny Block mistakes Winn-Dixie for a bear and Opal befriends the librarian after calming her down.

Opal asks Otis for a job sweeping at Gertrude's Pets to earn enough money for Winn-Dixie's collar and leash.

Winn-Dixie runs through Gloria Dump's gate and Opal meets the warm, blind woman who feeds him peanut butter.

A violent thunderstorm exposes Winn-Dixie's pathological fear, and the preacher vows to keep him safe during future storms.

Gloria shows Opal a tree in her backyard hung with empty liquor and wine bottles she calls her mistake tree.

Miss Franny shares Littmus Lozenges with Opal and Amanda, and the candy tastes like strawberry, root beer, and sadness.

Amanda runs out of the library crying after tasting a Littmus Lozenge and mentioning a person named Carson.

The preacher tells Opal that Amanda's five-year-old brother Carson drowned the previous year while swimming.

Opal's party begins and Otis arrives hesitantly at the gate, clutching a giant jar of pickles and his guitar.

Winn-Dixie vanishes during a sudden thunderstorm at the party and Opal and the preacher search everywhere but cannot find him.

Opal goes to the mistake tree to speak to her mother, saying her heart is full and she will miss her less.

Opal adopts a stray dog she names Winn-Dixie and, after persuading her father to keep him, learns 10 things about the mother who left when she was a baby. Winn-Dixie leads Opal to friendships with the librarian Miss Franny Block, the pet store worker Otis, and the blind and wise Gloria Dump. Through Gloria's mistake tree — hung with empty liquor bottles from her past — Opal begins to understand and forgive her mother's struggle with alcohol. After learning that the seemingly unpleasant Amanda Wilkinson lost her young brother to drowning, Opal's empathy expands and she decides to throw a party to bring everyone together. A thunderstorm scatters Winn-Dixie during the party, forcing Opal and the preacher into a tearful confrontation about her mother's permanent absence. Once Winn-Dixie is found safe, Opal visits the mistake tree and speaks to her mother's ghost, finally accepting her loss and declaring that her heart is full.

The headline events of Opal's summer in Naomi.

Opal explains her unusual full name — India Opal Buloni — to Winn-Dixie on the walk home from the grocery store.

Opal bathes Winn-Dixie with a hose and baby shampoo and tries but fails to brush his teeth.

Opal writes down the preacher's 10 facts about her mother so she will recognize her if they ever meet.

Winn-Dixie howls so loudly when left alone at the trailer park that the preacher decides to take him everywhere.

Gertrude the parrot lands on Winn-Dixie's head after a standoff, and Opal earns her job at Gertrude's Pets.

Sweetie Pie Thomas invites Opal and Winn-Dixie to her upcoming sixth birthday party in September.

Gloria Dump asks Opal to tell her everything about herself so she can see Opal with her heart.

Gloria shows Opal how to plant a small tree in the dirt and calls it a wait-and-see tree.

The preacher is knocked flat on his stomach when Winn-Dixie barrels through the trailer in a thunderstorm panic.

Miss Franny explains that her wealthy father gave her a small library of her own as a birthday gift.

Opal begins reading Gone with the Wind aloud to the blind Gloria Dump in her garden.

Opal gives the preacher a Littmus Lozenge and he says the taste painfully reminds him of Opal's mother.

Opal sweeps the pet store floor extra slowly to keep Otis company after he shares his story of loneliness.

Opal and the preacher hold each other and cry in the rain after failing to find Winn-Dixie anywhere.

Otis plays guitar inside Gloria's house and the music draws Winn-Dixie out from his hiding spot under a bed.

As Opal settles into Naomi, small but meaningful scenes deepen her bond with Winn-Dixie and her growing circle of friends. She learns to care for the dog, confides her loneliness to him, and builds community through visits to the pet store, the library, and Gloria Dump's garden. Revelations like the story of Miss Franny's library, reading aloud to Gloria, and sharing a Littmus Lozenge with the preacher steadily open Opal's eyes to how much grief others carry. As the party approaches, Opal invites everyone she loves and prepares with Gloria for a joyful gathering. The thunderstorm search for Winn-Dixie pushes Opal and her father to their most honest and tearful moment of the summer. When Otis's guitar music finally coaxes Winn-Dixie out of hiding, the mood lifts and the whole community is restored.

The quieter moments that shaped Opal's summer.

Opal tells Winn-Dixie they are alike because neither of them truly has a full family to belong to.

Winn-Dixie's howling outside the church forces the preacher to allow the dog inside the service to stop the disruption.

Opal prays for her mother to return and for new friends after the incident with the church mouse.

Miss Franny tells the story of a bear entering the library and how she drove it away by hurling War and Peace.

The Dewberry brothers dare Opal to enter Gloria's yard after Winn-Dixie runs through the gate of the so-called Witch's house.

Opal arrives early at the pet store and discovers Otis playing guitar for all the animals, freed from their cages and sitting perfectly still.

Otis confesses to Opal that he once went to jail but refuses at first to explain what he did.

Gloria reveals her past struggle with alcohol and teaches Opal to judge people by what they do now, not their past.

Opal wonders whether her mother has a mistake tree somewhere and whether she herself is a ghost to her mother.

Otis reveals he was arrested for playing music on the street and punched a police officer who tried to handcuff him.

Gloria tells Opal that she believes, sometimes, that the whole world has an aching heart.

Opal invites the Dewberry brothers to the party and is surprised when Dunlap smiles warmly and says they will come.

Opal is surprised to find herself genuinely glad when Amanda Wilkinson arrives at the party.

Opal accuses the preacher of giving up on her mother just as he announces they must stop searching for Winn-Dixie.

Dunlap races Opal back inside Gloria's house as the restored party fills with singing and music.

From the moment Opal recognizes her own orphaned loneliness in Winn-Dixie, she is on a journey of emotional discovery that reshapes how she sees the world and the people around her. Each friendship teaches her something new — Miss Franny shows that loneliness is universal, Gloria teaches her to judge people by who they are now rather than their past, and Otis's hidden story of imprisonment and lost music deepens her compassion. As Opal's empathy grows, her bitterness toward Amanda Wilkinson softens, and she begins to understand that grief quietly connects every person she meets. The decision to throw a party is itself a turning point, born from Opal's conviction that shared joy can ease shared sadness. The thunderstorm search ends in a raw confrontation with the preacher about her mother's permanent absence — the grief Opal has been circling all summer. By the night's end, Opal has let go enough to sing alongside her friends and feel, for the first time, that she truly belongs.