Puppy Love – Winn-Dixie and Blue

From Abbe – the true story of one contest, a lost dog, and happily ever after:

“We have a rule in our household that whenever one of our kids asks to be read to, we read. No exceptions. Even if the kids are getting dressed for school, the baby’s crying or the cat is barfing on the rug. We read a lot at our house, and I am always looking for new material.

My daughter received Because of Winn-Dixie as a Christmas present this year from her Aunt and we fell in love with the book immediately. We are excited to meet Opal, the Preacher, Gloria Dump, Otis and of course, Winn-Dixie, when the movie opens on one of four movie screens in my little town on Feb. 18.

So, I was happy when our new friends at Nettwerk America called offering movie prize packs for Folk Alley to give away that included the book, a soundtrack CD and, of course, the plushy dog. They were interested in Folk Alley because the music has a real singer/songwriter feel to it and Jim’s already added songs from the movie to the Folk Alley playlist.

This soundtrack makes a girl smile. First, I was drawn to the Emmylou Harris song, and then delighted by the Be Good Tanyas. Other fun songs include The Clapping Song by Shirley Ellis and Glory Glory by Patrinell Wright and Gloria Smith. Both songs transported me immediately- one to feeling like a 10-year-old girl again while dancing around the living room with my daughters, and the other to Sunday worship at Reverend Al Green’s church in Memphis, TN.

And then, just as I was working on putting together the contest around the Because of Winn-Dixie soundtrack, my dog Blue ran away and all I could think about (while trying not to burst into tears at work) was Blue, and all of my pets that had gone on before. Nice timing…