Chris Van Dusen

Saddle up for this first volume in a spin-off series starring favorite characters from DiCamillo's "New York Times"-bestselling Mercy Watson books. Leroy Ninker has a hat, a lasso, and boots. What he doesn't have is a horse--until he meets Maybelline, and then it's love at first sight.

Mercy the pig's love of buttered toast leads to the capture of a small thief who would rather be a cowboy.

Jack describes the kind of car he would build--one with amazing accessories and with the capability of traveling on land, in the air, and on and under the sea.

Persuaded by the word "treating" to dress up as a princess for Halloween, Mercy the pig's trick-or-treat outing has some very unexpected results.

After Mercy the pig snuggles to sleep with the Watsons, all three awaken with the bed teetering on the edge of a big hole in the floor.

"Stella felt joyful. She felt like something miraculous might happen. She wanted to sing.. When Stella gets the sudden idea to go caroling, she has a little trouble getting someone to join her. Her brother, Frank, is not good at spontaneity. The Watsons are very involved in a precarious fruitcake attempt (but happy to send their pig, Mercy, out for the occasion). Eugenia Lincoln declines, a bit rudely, to accompany on her accordion, and Horace Broom...

When a circus ship runs aground off the coast of Maine, the poor animals are left on their own to swim the chilly waters. Staggering onto a nearby island, they soon win over the wary townspeople with their kind, courageous ways. So well do the critters blend in that when the greedy circus owner returns to claim them, villagers of all species conspire to outsmart the bloated blowhard.

Randy Riley is a science genius who loves baseball, but isn't very good at it. Riley needs to use both his interests to save his town from a giant fireball hurtling toward earth.

When a big truck and its big load get stuck on a narrow road, traffic on the little island comes to a halt. Some cars need to go south and some have to travel north. How will Meg get to her swim meet? What about Barry's ballet class? Luckily, the kids come up with an ingenious solution: why not just swap cars? Inspired by an incident that happened on Vinalhaven, Maine, Chris Van Dusen tells a fun tale of resourcefulness and community through clever,...

"It's a summer day so beautiful and peaceful that Hattie, paddling in her canoe in the middle of a lake, can't help but sing. In the deep water below, a creature is lurking. He's huge and green, with a long, long neck, and he rarely leaves his lair. But on this day, he hears something sweet and inviting. He hears a song. What happens when the creature rises to the surface is nothing short of magical"--provided by publisher.