Mercy Watson to the Rescue [Hardcover]

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

Book Description

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

From the one and only Kate DiCamillo comes an irresistible new hero for early chapter book readers, brightly captured with comic nostalgic flair by Chris Van Dusen.

To Mr. and Mrs. Watson, Mercy is not just a pig — she's a porcine wonder. And to the portly and good-natured Mercy, the Watsons are an excellent source of buttered toast, not to mention that buttery-toasty feeling she gets when she snuggles into bed with them. This is not, however, so good for the Watsons' bed. BOOM! CRACK! As the bed and its occupants slowly sink through the floor, Mercy escapes in a flash — "to alert the fire department," her owners assure themselves. But could Mercy possibly have another emergency in mind — like a sudden craving for their neighbors' sugar cookies? Welcome to the wry and endearing world of Mercy Watson — an ebullient new character for early chapter-book readers in a series that's destined to be a classic.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2–Mercy Watson, a disarmingly charming pig adopted by a loving human family, makes her debut in this new series of chapter books for beginning readers. After the Watsons tuck Mercy into bed with a sweet song and a kiss, she feels warm inside, as if she has just eaten hot toast with a great deal of butter on it. However, afraid of the dark, she snuggles into bed with the couple. Moments later, all three are rudely awakened from their lovely dreams with a BOOM! as their bed falls into a hole that has opened in the floor beneath them. In hot pursuit of buttered toast, the porcine wonder inadvertently gets help and saves the day. Along the way, she causes great, humorous distress to the next-door Lincoln sisters. Van Dusen's bright gouache illustrations have a jovial exaggerated style and capture the sometimes frantic action and silliness of Mercy's heroic escapade.–Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* PreS-Gr. 2. Oh, Mercy, what a pig! Mercy is a fat little porker, a beloved member of the Watson family. When Mr and Mrs. Watson sing her a happy morning song, she feels as warm inside as buttered toast. But when the lights go off, Mercy is so scared she gets in bed with the Watsons. The bed breaks under the weight, which leads to a series of hysterical events. The Watsons think Mercy is on the way to call the fire department, when, in fact, she wants to see if next-door neighbor Baby Lincoln has any buttered toast. After another misunderstanding and a merry chase, the firemen arrive--just in time to rescue the Watsons, who are about to fall through the floor. Mercy is a heroine (to the Watsons, at least), resulting in more songs and towers of toast. Appropriate as both a picture book and a beginning reader, this joyful story combines familiar elements (the unexpected heroine, the mean neighbor) with a raucous telling that lets readers in on the joke. Van Dusen's artwork is also spot-on. The gouache illustrations are polished to a sheen and have plenty of heft. The characters are exaggerated with a vintage cartoon flair; Mercy, for instance, looks like a piggy bank that has sprung to life. Another jolly adventure about Mercy is in the works. 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; 1 edition (August 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763622702
• ISBN-13: 978-0763622701
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,649 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

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great New Series for Beginning Chapter Readers, August 24, 2005

By 

C. M. Butler "CindysOpinion" (MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mercy Watson to the Rescue (Hardcover)

Mercy Watson is a fine addition to the cannon of early readers. It's funny and fun!

Mercy is a pig who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Watson, who treat her as more a member of the family than a pet. When Mercy decides one night that she's too afraid to sleep alone, she crawls into bed with the Watsons. When the bed starts to sink through the Watson's floor, It's Mercy who runs off to find help - sort of!

You simply cannot wait to turn the page and find out why Mercy's doing what she's doing and how it's going to end. The plot twists are fun and logical, while matter-of-fact and unexpected. The illustrations are utterly charming. It's recommended for readers 6-8, but it really is fun for the whole family.

I can't wait to see what Mercy will do next!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So CUTE!, November 11, 2005

By 

Butterscotch (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mercy Watson to the Rescue (Hardcover)

Mr. and Mrs. Watson are the proud owners of Mercy, their pampered pig, in this adorable chapter book. In this first adventure, Mercy climbs into bed with the Watsons' one night and they soon find themselves in distress when the bed collapses under their combined weight. It's Mercy to the rescue (sort of) when a trip to the neighbors house results in a call to the fire department and the rescue of Mr. and Mrs. Watson from their collapsing bed. Mercy is treated as a hero and given his favorite dish of all - hot buttered toast! The story is fun and active, but the best part of this book isn't the writing - it's the illustrations. The cartoon-like drawings are fun, retro, and extremely vibrant, and perfectly capture Mercy in his adventures. The illustrations add everything to this book and the thoughtful details in the drawings made it a very fun read. Recommended!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rollicking romp of a story about a hot-buttered-toast-loving pig named Mercy, November 1, 2005

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mercy Watson to the Rescue (Hardcover)

MERCY WATSON TO THE RESCUE is a rollicking romp of a story about a beloved young pig named Mercy who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Watson in a comfortable family home. Mercy finds adventure and excitement at every turn in his simple suburban neighborhood when all he wants is some hot buttered toast.

Mercy, the pig, is a single-minded, simple creature. His love for hot buttered toast and his quest to find a snack sets the stage for all kinds of adventure. When Mercy jumps into bed with his owners, the Watsons, the bed begins sinking into the floor. The Watsons think Mercy is running for help when he jumps off the bed. What they don't know is that he is hunting for hot buttered toast. Mercy sets off late at night through the neighborhood and stirs up all kinds of trouble. Will Mercy get help for the Watsons, or will he just fulfill his late night craving for toast?

Mercy meets up with kind Baby Lincoln and her cranky older sister, Eugenia Lincoln, on his late night travels. MERCY WATSON TO THE RESCUE is filled with plenty of good clean fun and hijinks. It is short enough to be enjoyed in one evening like a picture book or spread out over several evenings if a young child is just learning to read.

Kate DiCamillo is a very talented and versatile author. This new series about Mercy is aimed at a much younger audience than her previous novels, which include the much loved BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE and the Newbery Award-winning THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. I think that younger readers will enjoy her storytelling just as much as older elementary school kids have. Chris Van Dusen adds to the enjoyment of the story with his colorful, sunny illustrations, which bring the character of Mercy to life.

Young readers will gobble up each new installment of this series just like Mercy gobbles up his hot buttered toast every morning.

--- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner ([e-mail])