Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig

Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig is the fifth book in the Mercy Watson series. I confess Chris Van Dusen's illustrations captured my attention first, but the combination of the story and the illustrations was perfect. The book itself is exactly what early chapter books should be: a combination of the familiar picture book and the soon-to-be familiar chapter book. The illustrations and font size are consistent with a picture book, but the page size and length are consistent with chapter books. Most importantly, the story and illustrations are delightful. Mercy Watson is adorably precocious and utterly porcine. While Mercy is enjoying some fresh lemonade with her owners/parents, she smells fresh pansies and promptly wanders next door to eat them because they taste as good as they smell. Naturally, the neighbors are not pleased and call animal control. Hijinks ensue. DiCamillo mostly tells the story through simple words and phrases, but she also slips in more complex words, such as porcine, subtly. She deftly uses them in context that makes them clear to young readers. While these books are the perfect transition book from picture books to chapter books, they would also make excellent read aloud books for younger children.

My children all love Mercy Watson, the stories are fun and entertaining and the pictures are beautiful. It was so funny when my seven year old called her brother a Porcine Wonder and he had to read the book to know what his little sister was talking about. Well worth the cost of the book.

We just love these books!!! I can read this from cover to cover in one sitting to my boys. They are entertaining and holds the kids attention. The pics are great too. All of the Mercy Watson books are great.

This new Mercy Watson book is a great addition to the Mercy Watson series. My kids absolutely LOVE these books

Kate DiCamillo and Chris VanDusen are truly an inspired duo. This book, like the others in the series, is chock full of odd and entertaining characters brought to life by VanDusen's brilliant artwork. It's always great to see what new character DiCamillo adds to each new book. This is a great read-aloud for kids of any age, but with a caveat: be prepared to have a strong craving for hot buttered toast with a great deal of butter on it after reading any Mercy the Pig book.