Mercy Watson, is in short, a porcine wonder. A darling. A dear. She is the pet pig of Mr. and Mrs. Watson, of 54 Deckawoo Drive, but they treat her more like their child. Mercy has her own bedroom, gets to on drives in Mr. Watson’s convertible and enjoys all the toast (with a great deal of butter on it) that she can eat.
Mercy is the creation of Kate DiCamillo, author of fabulous books like Because of Winn Dixie, Flora & Ulysses, The Tale of Desperaux and The MiraculousJourney of Edward Tulane.
Mercy’s six books fall a little lower in AR—Mercy is just about perfect for most second grade students, and she is funny!
Mercy’s owners are those happy-but-oblivious types that you just can’t upset. Her neighbor, Eugenia Lincoln is a curmudgeon, but she’s still likable. Whenever something crazy happens on Deckawoo Drive, this group of neighbors diffuse the situation with hot buttered toast, even sharing with the policeman who caught Mercy driving. And the firemen, and LeRoy when he tried to rob the Watsons.
This sweet little neighborhood seems to be plucked from an idyllic mid-century community. It’s perfect for kids because the conflicts are resolved quickly with kind, neighborly gestures that we should all be making more of.
Chris Van Dusen outdid himself with the colorful and fun illustrations. I love the little hint of purple on Mercy’s ears and eyebrows. I love Mrs. Watson’s hair, I love Eugenia Lincoln’s stodgy old-lady face, and her sister, Baby’s sweet old-lady smile. And I adore that pink convertible!
There are more tales from this neighborhood, but you’ll have to wait to hear about them tomorrow. Visit Mercy’s website here…by the way, I am seriously craving toast with a good deal of butter on it.
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