Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig (Mercy Watson Series #5)

by Kate DiCamillo, Chris Van Dusen (Illustrator)

Overview

Can Mercy Watson outwit Animal Control? The porcine wonder’s on the lam in her latest tongue-in-snout adventure!

Mercy's appetite has got her into trouble again. When Eugenia Lincoln's pansies go missing, Animal Control Officer Francine Poulet arrives on the scene. But as she soon discovers, not just anyone can think like a pig. Especially when that pig is porcine wonder Mercy Watson!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763652319
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/08/2011
Series:	Mercy Watson Series , #5
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	40,117
Product dimensions:	8.12(w) x 6.40(h) x 0.32(d)
Lexile:	380L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kate DiCamillo is the author of the first four stories starring Mercy Watson. She is also the author of The Tale of Despereaux, which won the Newbery Medal; Because of Winn-Dixie, which received a Newbery Honor; The Tiger Rising, a National Book Award Finalist; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, winner of a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; and the picture book Great Joy. She lives in Minneapolis.

Chris Van Dusen has illustrated all the books in the Mercy Watson series. He is also the author-illustrator of Down to the Sea With Mr. Magee, A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee, and If I Built a Car. He lives in Camden, Maine.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

March 25, 1964

Place of Birth:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Education:

B.A. in English, University of Florida at Gainesville, 1987

Editorial Reviews

Shiny, stylized artwork captures all the fun of Mercy’s capers.
—Booklist

Fans of the series will welcome this addition to Mercy’s adventures.
—School Library Journal

As always, Mercy is a blue ribbon winner. The characters are hilarious, partly because they are so true to life. Illustrator Chris Van Dusen's pictures add to the story (Francine Poulet's license plate reads "CLUCK"; Mercy's bowl of lemonade is garnished with a slice of lemon). Young fans no doubt already find themselves craving a new Mercy story in much the same way that the porcine wonder pines for hot crunchy toast dripping with butter.
—Kidsreads.com

Mercy Watson fans will surely love this deliciously, ridiculously funny story…Chris Van Dusen has produced delightful illustrations that perfectly compliment Kate DiCamillo’s prose.
—Looking Glass Review

Funny, giggly, and silly…hilarious, bold, brightly colored illustrations that almost glow.
—Record-Courrier (Ravenna, Ohio)

From the Publisher

Gr 2-4

In this installment, the porcine protagonist outrages the Lincoln sisters when she sneaks through their hedge and eats their newly planted pansies. Eugenia Lincoln calls animal control, and Officer Francine Poulet shows up determined to "think like a pig" and catch the culprit. Chaos ensues, and the porker escapes to enjoy another day of buttered toast. Fans of the series will welcome this addition to Mercy's adventures and be amused by the hyperbolic quality of Van Dusen's color illustrations.-Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Mercer Island Library, WA

School Library Journal

Mercy Watson, beloved porcine wonder, meets Francine Poulet, "the best animal control officer in the history of the world." When Mercy discovers freshly planted pansies next door, what can she do but eat them? Never mind that the pansies belong to the next-door neighbors, pig-loving Baby and her pig-hating sister, Eugenia. When the furious Eugenia sees the incriminating pansy petals on Mercy's chin, her anger gets the best of her and she reports Mercy to Animal Control. The officer, beak-nosed Poulet, is energized by the challenge of adding a new animal to her life capture list. DiCamillo's comic timing coupled with Van Dusen's familiar, over-the-top gouache depictions of the emotional Mercy and her caring, buttered-toast-bearing "parents" make this a welcome addition to the popular series. Fifteen very short action-packed chapters make this a fine step up for readers ready for a slightly more challenging read than Henry and Mudge. (Fiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews