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Miss Franny Block is the elderly librarian in Naomi. She’s a tiny, frail, and wrinkled lady, but Opal soon discovers that Miss Franny has all sorts of stories to tell. Because Opal is willing to listen to these stories and begins to understand that Miss Franny is just as lonely as she is, Opal suggests that they become friends— Miss Franny is Opal’s first friend (other than Winn-Dixie) in Naomi. Aside from Opal, Miss Franny is, in many ways, alone. Though she tells stories about illustrious family members and residents of an older, wilder Florida, she laments that all her friends have died and that no one else in Naomi remembers events that she does. Telling stories is, in many respects, a way for Miss Franny to hold onto the past and keep it alive. She also does this by keeping her desk full of Littmus Lozenges, a candy that her great-grandfather Littmus W. Block developed in the aftermath of the Civil War. With the candies, which inexplicably taste like “melancholy,” Miss Franny teaches Opal and Amanda that life is made up of both sweetness and sadness.
Miss Franny Block Quotes in Because of Winn-Dixie
The Because of Winn-Dixie quotes below are all either spoken by Miss Franny Block or refer to Miss Franny Block. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 7 Quotes
She sighed. “I imagine I’m the only one left from those days. I imagine I’m the only one that even recalls that bear. All my friends, everyone I knew when I was young, they are all dead and gone.”
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She sighed again. She looked sad and old and wrinkled. It was the same way I felt sometimes, being friendless in a new town and not having a mama to comfort me. I sighed, too.
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Chapter 8 Quotes
All of a sudden, I felt happy. I had a dog. I had a job. I had Miss Franny Block for a friend. And I had my first invitation to a party in Naomi. It didn’t matter that it came from a five-year-old and the party wasn’t until September. I didn’t feel so lonely anymore.
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Chapter 15 Quotes
And I got real good at holding on to Winn-Dixie whenever they came. I held on to him and comforted him and whispered to him and rocked him, just the same way he tried to comfort Miss Franny when she had her fits. Only I held on to Winn-Dixie for another reason, too. I held on to him tight so he wouldn’t run away.
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It all made me think about Gloria Dump. I wondered who comforted her when she heard those bottles knocking together, those ghosts chattering about the things she had done wrong. I wanted to comfort Gloria Dump. And I decided that the best way to do that would be to read her a book, read it to her loud enough to keep the ghosts away.
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Chapter 16 Quotes
“And the army took him, and Littmus went off to war, just like that. Left behind his mother and three sisters. He went off to be a hero. But he soon found out the truth.” Miss Franny closed her eyes and shook her head.
“What truth?” I asked her.
“Why, that war is hell,” Miss Franny said with her eyes still closed. “Pure hell.”
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Chapter 17 Quotes
I ate my Littmus Lozenge slow. It tasted good. It tasted like root beer and strawberry and something else I didn’t have a name for, something that made me feel kind of sad. I looked over at Amanda. She was sucking on her candy and thinking hard.
“Do you like it?” Miss Franny asked me.
“Yes ma’am,” I told her.
“What about you, Amanda? Do you like the Littmus Lozenge?”
“Yes ma’am,” she said. “But it makes me think of things I feel sad about.”
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Chapter 25 Quotes
“Well,” said Gloria Dump. “We didn’t do nothin’. We just sat here and waited and sang some songs. We all got to be good friends. Now. The punch ain’t nothin’ but water and the egg-salad sandwiches got tore up by the rain. You got to eat them with a spoon if you want egg salad. But we got pickles to eat. And Littmus Lozenges. And we still got a party going on.”
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Miss Franny Block Character Timeline in Because of Winn-Dixie
The timeline below shows where the character Miss Franny Block appears in Because of Winn-Dixie. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
...is just a tiny old house full of books. The librarian is the elderly Miss Franny Block, and Franny becomes Opal’s first friend. Their friendship begins because Winn-Dixie is upset that...
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Opal asks what happened. Miss Franny insists that it’s a long story, but Opal says that she’s like her Mama and...
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Chapter 7
Miss Franny says that back when Florida was still wild and she was still a little girl,...
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One day, Miss Franny was reading in the library when a big shadow crossed her deck. Without looking up,...
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With a sigh, Miss Franny muses that she’s probably the only one left from those days; no one else who...
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Chapter 8
...Winn-Dixie to her party. Opal feels happy: she has a job, a friend in Miss Franny, and an invitation to a party.
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Chapter 10
...how the preacher hides in a turtle shell. Opal talks about finding Winn-Dixie, meeting Miss Franny, and getting a job with Otis at Gertrude’s Pets. She talks about her excitement for...
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Chapter 12
...too. She thinks that she’s collecting stories for Mama. Someday, she’ll tell Mama about Miss Franny and the bear and about briefly believing that Gloria was a witch.
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Chapter 13
...a criminal. After work, Opal and Winn-Dixie go to the library to talk with Miss Franny and hear a story. Then, they head to Gloria’s. It’s Opal’s favorite place to be,...
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Chapter 14
Opal sometimes tells Miss Franny’s most recent story to Gloria . Sometimes she imitates Otis playing for the animals, and...
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Chapter 15
...hogging it and wonders if the air will blow all his hair out, but Miss Franny assures Opal that he’s fine. Sometimes when Miss Franny tells stories, she has small fits....
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Both Winn-Dixie and Miss Franny’s behavior reminds Opal of Gloria. Opal wonders who comforts her when the ghosts chatter about...
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Chapter 16
Miss Franny says that her great-grandfather, Littmus W. Block, was 14 when the Civil War broke out....
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Miss Franny says that Littmus came out of the war a changed man. He walked from Virginia...
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Chapter 17
Miss Franny continues that Littmus was all alone. He sat down on what used to be the...
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Miss Franny offers Amanda and Opal Littmus Lozenges. Opal asks if Winn-Dixie can have one too. Winn-Dixie...
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...candy makes her miss Carson. Looking ready to cry, Amanda runs away. Opal asks Miss Franny who Carson is, but Miss Franny shakes her head and says that the world is...
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Chapter 20
...and says that’s what they need to do: throw a party and invite Otis, Miss Franny, the preacher, and Sweetie Pie. She suggests they have the party in Gloria’s garden and...
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Opal starts inviting people immediately. The preacher agrees to come. Miss Franny is thrilled and suggests that Opal invite Amanda. Opal is surprised that Amanda nervously says...
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Chapter 21
Miss Franny arrives in a green silk dress and heels with a bowl of Littmus Lozenges. Sweetie...
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Chapter 22
...hear thunder in the distance. Gloria says that it wasn’t supposed to rain as Miss Franny frets over the possibility of her silk dress getting wet. Just as Amanda suggests they...
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Chapter 23
...the preacher grab the food while Sweetie Pie rescues her dog pictures. Amanda helps Miss Franny into the house, and Opal goes back out to help Gloria. Opal looks around at...
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Chapter 25
Gloria says that she and Franny talked about the songs they knew from childhood. They got Otis to play them, since...
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Chapter 26
Inside, the preacher smiles and says he’ll teach them all some songs. Miss Franny passes Opal the bowl of Littmus Lozenges and Opal eats one. She turns down Otis’s...
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