Customer Reviews

Mercy Watson to the Rescue

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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!

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 (renee.kirchner@usa.net)

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate Dicamillo
This was a fun book to read. The chapters flowed very well together. I kept thinking to myself that if I were a younger reader (ages 6-8), I would probably feel very grown-up reading this book, because it's the same size as adult books, but the font is bigger, and there are a lot of great illustrations to help tell the story.
I also enjoyed the personification of Mercy, the pig, who was portrayed as a member of the Watson family, who sleeps in her own bed, in her own room, and her owners are more like her parents. Children can relate to this depiction more easily. Mercy has childish qualities, such as being afraid of the dark and climbing into bed with Mr. and Mrs. Watson. She has a favorite food, which she even dreams about. She has a favorite nieghbor, because Baby Lincoln is nice to Mercy and shares cookies with her.
Some silly tones in this book include Baby Lincoln's older sister who lives with her, who is the antgonist to Mercy. She believes pigs belong on a farm, not in thier own bed, or at the kitchen table eating toast. There is a funny twist to this story that leads Mercy to be a hero in her owner's eyes, but not
necessarily Mercy's intent.....
The early reader could easily get attached to Mercy and her adventures, and I like that her story continues in other books as well.

I really reccomend this book because some people would really get a kick out of it like I did! Mercy really loves to eat waffles , and Mercy always dreams about them too. I really hope you will think the same that I did about this book! Sometimes it's funny and sometimes it can be a mystery and other times you might think it will become sad but it all ties up in the end! My favorite part in the book is when Mercy kept on dreaming about her waffles and butter! I hope you will like this book as much as I did too! Once again it is a great book! I hope you like it too!

And be prepared to laugh your way through this gem of an early chapter book. The whole family will be entertained by the pig who loves hot buttered toast ... and her non-stop adventure in heroism. An excellent gift for the new reader ... and a sure-to-make-them-smile reading pleasure for everyone else.

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 she loves buttered toast.

One night, Mercy doesn't want to sleep alone and decides to slip into bed with Mr. and Mrs. Watson. With Mercy in bed, it is one body too many, and the floor cracks! Mercy leaves to look for buttered toast, and the Watsons are stranded in bed.

Will Mercy find help for the Watsons? Will the Lincoln sisters from next door understand? Will the firefighters arrive in time?

Featuring colorful illustrations and a lively story, MERCY WATSON TO THE RESCUE is a cute story about a pig who manages to do a good deed while trying to find buttered toast. Part of the charm is in seeing that Mercy's family believes in her cleverness while the reader knows Mercy's motivations aren't quite what her people think.

This "Mercy" book is an entertaining for early readers. Children under the targeted 6-8 age range will also enjoy sitting with a parent to have this book read to them. By the same author as BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, this book would be a cute and clever addition to any child's library.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
11/20/2006

This book may have been written for early readers but my 4 year old loves it when I read this to her. She loves Mercy and all the other characters and is captivated by the story even though it's a long one to read aloud. My husband and I get a kick out of it too.

Got this for my 5 1/2 year old after we got the audio book through audible. It's a very funny book; absurd and delightful for kids. We've read it over and over.
Great beginning chapter book. Also some very sly social observation that is appealing to adults too. (Helps to have heard the audio version first. Good actor really brings out the humor at various levels.)
I recommend you read Mercy Watson To the Rescue and Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride together. The two books introduce a sweet, funny cast of characters.

Mercy Watson likes a great deal of butter on top of her toast. Mercy had something great happen to her one night. Mercy and her parents were sleeping. Soon she heard a crack and the bed almost fell through the ceiling. She got out of bed but all she could think of was toast with butter. Mercy went to the kitchen to see if any toast was left. No luck. So Mercy went outside. The neighbors woke up and help Mercy's parents by calling 911. They were really calling to take Mercy away. I liked this book a lot. I like how the puzzle came together in the end. There were sad, interesting, and funny parts. I recommend this book to K-4 students.