The Mercy Watson Collection Volume II #3: Mercy Watson Fights Crime; #4: Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise

by Barbara Park

Like Mercy, Junie B. is a character whose well-intentioned chaos creates comedy—she bumbles through situations with absolute confidence, and the humor comes from her perspective rather than slapstick. Park has that same gift DiCamillo does for making a child's logic feel both hilarious and oddly wise, with illustrations that capture every exasperated adult reaction perfectly.

by Sara Pennypacker

This one's deeper than the Mercy books, but it shares that same emotional intelligence—a story about an unlikely animal companion and the humans who love them, told with genuine tenderness underneath the adventure. Where Mercy's stories are light and comedic, Pax asks bigger questions about loyalty and home, but with the same belief that animals and people can understand each other in meaningful ways.

by Kate DiCamillo

I know—same author, but hear me out: if you haven't read this one yet, it's DiCamillo operating in a completely different register. It's got the same warmth and whimsy as Mercy, but it's a full novel with genuine stakes, a mouse hero who's delightfully unsuited for his role, and that fairy-tale quality that makes you believe in forgiveness and love as actual forces in the world.

by Katherine Applegate

Applegate writes from an animal's perspective with such clarity and dignity—Ivan is a gorilla with an inner life as rich as any human character's, and the story moves between humor and heartbreak without ever feeling manipulative. It has that same quality as Mercy where you're rooting for an animal character who sees the world differently than the humans around them, but with more narrative weight.

by Laura Baskes Litwin

Published in 1952, this is the ancestor of everything DiCamillo does—a story where a pig (Wilbur!) is the emotional center, where friendship between unlikely creatures feels completely natural, and where the writing has that same unhurried, observant quality. White's prose is deceptively simple, just like DiCamillo's, but it carries real weight. If you loved Mercy's gentle world, this is where that tradition began.