Mercy Watson to the Rescue

by Kate DiCamillo

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Starred Review. Newbery Medalist DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux) once again displays her versatility with this jaunty debut to an early chapter-book series. The tale stars Mercy, a pig with personality a-plenty—and a penchant for "hot toast with a great deal of butter on it." When Mr. and Mrs. Watson tuck Mercy into bed at night and switch off the light, their pet no longer feels "warm and buttery-toasty inside" and decides "she would be much happier if she wasn't sleeping alone." So she climbs into the Watsons' bed and dreams of hot buttered toast, until the overloaded bed begins to fall through the floor. Mercy's obsession prompts her to hop off the bed—her devoted owners convinced that she's gone to summon the fire department. Alas, the peckish porcine's single-minded pursuit leads her to the kind next-door neighbor and ultimately does prompt a call to the fire department—but not before a series of comical twists (involving the kind neighbor's sister, Eugenia, who is of the opinion that "pigs should not live in houses"). Van Dusen's (If I Built a Car, reviewed above) boldly hued, tactically hyperbolic gouache paintings tap into the narrative's wry humor and joie de vivre—a memorable sequence depicts Eugenia in curlers and bathrobe chasing Mercy through the yards and winding up in an exhausted heap atop the porker heroine. Everyone ends up around the Watsons' table where the besotted couple piles up the undeserved toast for their "porcine wonder"—a fitting cap to this animated pig tale. Ages 6-8. (Sept.)
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K-Gr 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 â??warm inside, as if she has just eaten hot toast with a great deal of butter on it.â?? 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 â??BOOM!â?? as their bed falls into a hole that has opened in the floor beneath them. In hot pursuit of buttered toast, â??the porcine wonderâ?? 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 â??heroicâ?? escapade.–Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
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From BookList, August 1, 2005, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
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*Starred Review*
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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.
IleneCooper.
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