Girl finds friends in unlikely places

Your family just moved to a new state. Your kids—homesick for their best buddies—can't relate to the kids in their new neighborhood. Your son claims they eat weird food. Your daughter complains they speak with accents. They both say they don't know how to make new friends in a place they feel they don't belong.

Learning to forge new friendships is front and center of the movie Because of Winn-Dixie, released on home video August 9. After watching the movie, use our questions below to start a family chat about creating camaraderie. Then enjoy doing our activity, “Palm Pals,” to bring the big-screen lesson to life!

Based on the best-selling children's book, the film features Opal Buloni (AnnaSophia Robb), a lonely girl whose mother left her and whose preacher father (Jeff Daniels) has moved them to a new town. Opal desperately misses her old home, where she loved playing softball.

On a trip to the Winn-Dixie grocery store, Opal befriends a mischievous dog, which she claims as hers to save him from going to the pound. After convincing her dad to keep Winn-Dixie (her dog's new name), Opal finally finds a friend—albeit a furry one.

As Opal and Winn-Dixie explore their dusty new neighborhood, she finds friendships in improbable places—a musty library, a ramshackle house, even an eccentric pet store. The new bonds not only brighten Opal's life, but also breathe new life into the town.

Talk Together

Why do you think it was hard for Opal to make friends at first in her new neighborhood? What could Opal have done differently to make friends her own age?

Share times when it was tough for you to make new friends. Perhaps you were at summer camp for the first time, but the other campers had all met the summer before. How did you finally make friends? Share some of your best strategies with one another.

Next, talk about the friends Opal did make and how they were so different from her—such as the dog, the old librarian, and the strange pet store worker. Even though Opal's new pals were unlike her, they still had things in common. For example, Opal Buloni and Gloria Dump both had embarrassing last names, and Opal and the librarian both loved books.

Think of some of the friends you have who are quite different from you. What ties do you have in common?

Play Together: Palm Pals

String together new friendships with this hand-y get-to-know-you game.

You will need:
• Several sheets of construction paper
• Roll of string
• Markers
• Tape or pushpins
• Scissors

Invite your neighbors over for a “Getting to Know You Picnic”—even if you all already know each other, more or less.

When your guests arrive, have them each trace one hand on a piece of construction paper and cut the shape out with scissors.

Guests should write their names on the palms, and one fact about themselves on each of the fingers—such as, “I'm afraid of snakes,” or “I love board games.” Tape all the handprints on a wall for everyone to see.

As everyone looks at all the handprints and finger facts, ask your guests to look for facts that apply to themselves, too. For each fact that you identify with, attach a string between your handprint and theirs. You can have as many strings as necessary.

When the stringing is done, have everyone stand back and look at the web you've all created. Then picnic next to someone you have something in common with and strike up a conversation. Your kids (and neighbors) will be able to see, just like Opal, that you have more potential pals around you than you may realize.