Mercy Watson Fights Crime [Hardcover]

Kate DiCamillo (Author), Chris Van Dusen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Mercy Watson

The beguiling porcine wonder turns bucking bronco to snare a robber in this hilarious new addition to the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling series.

Leroy Ninker is a small man with a big dream: he wants to be a cowboy, but for now he's just a thief. In fact, Leroy is robbing the Watsons' kitchen right this minute! As he drags the toaster across the counter — screeeeeech — and drops it into his bag — clannngggg — little does he know that a certain large pig who loves toast with a great deal of butter is stirring from sleep. Even less could he guess that comedy of errors (not to mention the buttery sweets in his pocket) will soon lead this little man on the wild and raucous rodeo ride he's always dreamed of! Nosy neighbors, astonished firemen, a puzzled policeman, and the ever-doting Watsons return for a new tongue-in-snout adventure about Kate DiCamillo's delightfully single-minded pig.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 2–Another rollicking adventure starring the porcine wonder. One night, Mercy awakes to the sound of the toaster scraping along the kitchen counter, which can only mean one thing–someone is making toast. Her life revolves around hot buttered toast, so she heads for the kitchen. There she finds a little man in a ten-gallon hat stealing the toaster along with other household items. Hilarity ensues, and all of the familiar characters from the previous books make appearances. Humor abounds in this tale, both the slapstick and more subtle variety, which will keep newly independent readers turning the pages. DiCamillo has creatively woven in the elements that a good easy reader should have: repetition, simple sentence structure, and controlled vocabulary. Van Dusen's stylized illustrations enhance the action through their bright colors and exaggerated appearances of the humans. A great addition.–Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This third installment about the perky porker draws heavily on the previous books. Mercy is still crazy for toast and butter, which always seems to lead to intervention by the fire department or the police. This time, it's both. Thinking she hears someone making toast, Mercy investigates, finding instead a thief (and wannabe cowboy) invading the Watson home. Mercy seems to capture him, but, really, it's all about the butter candy in his pocket. The story is slight, but the shiny, retro pictures still amuse. Even beginning readers will wish for more. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; Library Binding edition (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763625906
• ISBN-13: 978-0763625900
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.5 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kate DiCamillo is the author of The Magician's Elephant, a New York Times bestseller; The Tale of Despereaux, which was awarded the Newbery Medal; Because of Winn-Dixie, a Newbery Honor book; and six books starring Mercy Watson, including the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride. She lives in Minneapolis.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much Better than First Two in the Series, November 20, 2006

By 

Wantz Upon A Time Reviews (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mercy Watson Fights Crime (Hardcover)

Mercy Watson is a "porcine wonder." She's a pig who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Watson. She has her own bed in her own room and loves buttered toast.

Mercy wakes up one night to the sound of the beloved toaster being dragged across the kitchen counter. Certain this means a serving of heavily buttered toast, Mercy goes downstairs to get her share. Only it's not Mrs. Watson in the kitchen--it's a robber stealing the toaster!

Leroy Ninker is a thief who likes to dress as a cowboy. When Mercy Watson finds him raiding her family's kitchen, he ends up learning a few important lessons--which include not eating butter-flavored candy near a pig who loves buttered toast.

MERCY WATSON FIGHTS CRIME is the third installment in the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo. The first two titles in this series were somewhat disappointing, but this book is a marked improvement. Children will enjoy how Mercy's obsession with buttery toast leads her to stop a crime in progress. Rather than being scary, this criminal is cute unto himself, and entirely redeemable.

As always, the illustrations are first-rate fun. Mercy's future looks a great deal better after this installment. This "porcine wonder" just might come into her own!

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
11/20/2006

4½-BALLOONS for WUAT Kids; 5-Stars for Amazon

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Oh Mercy! We love this series but this title is not our favorite!, October 2, 2006

By 

Mom "LetsReadAStory" (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mercy Watson Fights Crime (Hardcover)

We absolutely adore the Mercy Watson series at our house. After throroughly enjoying the first two books in the series, we were eager to read this newest installment, Mercy Watson Fights Crime. Unfortunately, this book really scared my kids! The same ridiculous characters are all here and the tone is light, but the plot revolves around Mercy's reaction to and capture of a robber who has broken into the Watson house to steal (among other things) Mercy's beloved toaster. The concept of someone - a stranger, a robber, a bad guy - sneaking into our house in the middle of the night had never occured to my kids, and we had lots of questions and nervousness that night when we went to bed. What if someone like Leroy Ninker comes in our house tonight? Will he take my toys? What if I go downstairs and find him? Is the door locked? How did he get in? And on and on. So, while we wholeheartedly recommend the Mercy Watson series, I'm not sure this title is a great choice for kids on the younger end of the recommended age range of 4 through 8.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and hilarious adventure, October 7, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mercy Watson Fights Crime (Hardcover)

Kate DiCamillo's MERCY WATSON FIGHTS CRIME provides the third pig tale in the series. Here Mercy hears a noise and discovers a thief is robbing the Watsons - a cowboy thief whose 'yippie-I-oh' can both lull a sleep to pig and wake up a sleeping household. Color drawings by Chis Van Dusen add fun and hilarious adventure to the tale.