DiCamillo, K. (2005). Mercy Watson to the rescue. Candlewick Press: Somerville, MA.
Age Level: 5-7
Genre: Easy to Read Picture book, because the book has illustrations on every other page throughout most of the book. The book is also divided into short chapters and the text is large and easy to read.
The book is a funny story about a pig that is loved by her caregivers Mr. and Mrs. Watson. They believe that Mercy is a “porcine wonder” and even let her share their bed when she becomes frightened. Mercy’s love of buttered toast sets this story into a hilarious misunderstanding. Mr. and Mrs. Watson’s bed starts to fall to the floor and she is sent to alert the fire department to save them, when instead, Mercy goes looking for something to relieve her craving for buttered toast or just food in general. On her quest, we meet the neighbors, sisters Eugenia and Baby who set the plot in motion. The story is told in third person-omniscient and we are able to see into the minds of all of the characters, adding to the humor because while some characters think one thing about the other, they are thinking something totally different. The neighbors Eugenia and Baby are good examples of this. For example, in chapter 5 on pages 26 and 27, we are introduced to the sisters: “Eugenia Lincoln is the older sister. She has many opinions. One of Eugenia’s opinions is that pigs should not live in houses….Baby Lincoln is the younger sister. She is the baby of the family. Baby agrees with everything that Eugenia says. It is easier that way. But secretly, Baby has an opinion of her own. Baby’s opinion is that Mercy is good company.”
DiCamillo’s writing style consists of writing this book in short chapters of about five pages each. The pictures take up about 2-3 pages of each chapter. This book would be appropriate for readers who are attempting to read independently in class and who are excited to make the transition to books with chapters. This book would be a great book to use in the classroom to talk about points of view and to talk about chapters in books.
Illustrations were done by Chris Van Dusen. His pictures are bright and according to the reverse side of the title page, are done in gouache. The illustrations are similar to cartoons and would be very appealing to young readers. Because the story is full of humor, the brightness of the paint reflects this and makes the book even more attractive. Because this is an easy-to-read book and is divided into chapters, the illustrations come less often that a picture storybook. The pictures occur about every other page and illustrate what is happening in the text and add to the humor of the text.
Big Questions:
How does Mercy eventually solve Mr. and Mrs. Watson’s problem?
Have you ever agreed with someone because it was “easier” even though you didn’t really agree with that person?
What do you think a “porcine wonder” is?
Resources for the Classroom:
These websites include the author’s website and the book website, along with more lessons that give opportunity to use Mercy Watson to the Rescue.
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