Common Sense Media Review
By Sally Engelfried
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Funny, silly pig story great for early readers.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Mercy Watson, a pig, is much beloved by Mr. and Mrs. Watson, who sing her to sleep every night. One night, Mercy gets scared of the dark after they tuck her in. When she crawls into bed with Mr. and Mrs. Watson, her fear disappears and she feels as cozy as can be. However, the added weight of Mercy in the bed turns out to be just a little more than the floorboards can bear. As the bed begins to fall through a hole in the floor, endangering Mr. and Mrs. Watson, oblivious Mercy jumps out of bed in search of her favorite treat: warm toast with a great deal of butter on it. While the Watsons cry for help, Mercy encounters a neighbor who's not particularly fond of pigs. Chaos ensues, and the fire department is called. Meanwhile, the Watsons are still falling, absolutely sure that their dear Mercy has run for help.
Is It Any Good?
Mercy's joyful smile is contagious, and readers will mirror the doting looks on Mr. and Mrs. Watson's faces as they gaze upon the "porcine wonder" that is Mercy. The pacing of MERCY WATSON TO THE RESCUE is fast and fun, as mix-ups abound but all turns out well.
The colorful gouache illustrations are vivid and have a cartoony flair, and the large font with plenty of white space on the page makes this an excellent book for new readers just graduating to chapter books.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the misunderstandings that lead to ultimate success, and the interesting way the pig is treated like a child rather than an animal, which annoys at least one neighbor.
What do you like about reading funny stories? Can you think of some other books that take an absurd situation such as Mercy's passion for toast and make a story of it?
What do you think of how the family treats Mercy like a child? Have you seen your family or neighbors treat dogs and cats that way?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Chris Van Dusen
- Genre : Animals
- Topics : Adventures , Animals
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Candlewick Press
- Publication date : October 22, 2005
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 6 - 9
- Number of pages : 68
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate