We here at Mackin are big fans of Kate DiCamillo and her body of work. Whenever a new book comes out, we fight over who gets to read the ARC first! We love her so much, we interviewed her for our latest Compendium! Check out the interview here. So we are so excited that Candlewick has provided some wonderful prizes for us to share with our readers! What are these wonderful prizes? We thought you’d never ask!
The grand prize winner will receive a complete set of DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson series along with two adorable Mercy Watson plush toys, and a tote bag.
The second prize winner will receive an autographed special edition of Because of Winn-Dixie along with a Winn-Dixie plush toy.
The third prize winner will receive also receive an autographed special edition of Because of Winn-Dixie and a fabulous Bink & Gollie T-shirt.
That’s right folks…THREE prizes! Three chances to win! All you have to do is leave a comment about your favorite Kate DiCamillo book, or if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading her work yet, which book you’ll like to start with.
We’ll announce the lucky winners next Friday! Good Luck!
Lori C.
Mackin Books In Bloom
Mackin Guest Blogger
Mindy R
Ryan H.
Tracey L
Tuan N
Kathy Evanilla said,
November 2, 2012 @ 8:12 am
I’m an elementary school librarian and love all of Kate DiCamillo’s books so it is difficult to pick just one. If I have to choose, though, I’d pick The Magician’s Elephant. I love the way the story weaves through the lives of the characters and draws them together. Ms. DiCamillo draws the reader into the world of the orphaned boy and his search for a sister that no one would admit was alive and keeps the story interesting throughout the entire book. It is magical!
Stephanie Quinn said,
November 2, 2012 @ 8:49 am
My favorite Kate DiCamillo book by far is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. My favorite book as a child was The Velveeten Rabbit and Edward reminds me of this story so much. I read this book to my sons when they were younger and my eight-year-old had to read the end for all three of us because I was balling my eyes out.
Heather said,
November 2, 2012 @ 9:45 am
My favorite character is Edward Tulane, but my 2nd grader loves Mercy Watson. I was pleased that she picked a Mercy adventure to read out loud this week. The juxtaposition of everyday words with more complex vocabulary is fantastic for my emerging reader!
tatjana said,
November 2, 2012 @ 9:47 am
All right, my kids would love any of these, they are great fans. Nora (6) adores all of Mercy Watson. Louisa (10) loves Because of Winn-Dixie, she didn’t love the tiger one because it was just too sad. I personally really liked The miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I still have to check out The Magician’s Elephant.
Holly Baker said,
November 2, 2012 @ 10:12 am
I’m a huge fan of all things Kate DiCamillo, but my favorite would have to be Mercy Watson – - I mean who can resist a pig who loves hot buttered toast??
Amanda Hamilton said,
November 2, 2012 @ 10:28 am
Definitely The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, but all her books are wonderful!
Heidi Grange said,
November 2, 2012 @ 11:51 am
I love most of Kate DiCamillo’s work. My favorites though are the Bink & Gollie series. They delight me thoroughly.
Connie Anderson said,
November 2, 2012 @ 1:03 pm
My favorite of DiCamillo’s books is The Tale of Despereaux, though Mercy Watson and Edward Tulane are right up there, too. It is so hard to pick!
Cally Flickinger said,
November 2, 2012 @ 2:50 pm
I love all of her books so much!! I wish she would make author visits to schools. She is amazing and our students love her books and her ability to know what children want to read. There is such empathy in the books that we, children and adults, can relate to. One of my favorites is Because of Winn Dixie. That being said, the compassionate side of me that wants to instill generosity to students is Great Joy.
suebe said,
November 2, 2012 @ 4:57 pm
Mercy Watson all the way — hot buttered toast, anyone?
Margo Jantzi said,
November 2, 2012 @ 6:22 pm
Our second grade library learners are loving the Bink and Golly books. These beginning reader books are charming with two characters that claim individuality and lots of personality. The simple chapters help stretch our readers vocabulary and reading attention spans. Please enter our library students in your contest for anything related to our beloved author, Kate DiCamillo.
Sue Lovejoy said,
November 2, 2012 @ 6:52 pm
Just read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane for the first time this week! Loved it.
Laura Martin said,
November 2, 2012 @ 8:00 pm
I love Despereaux and Winn Dixie, but my first graders and I have fallen in love with Mercy Watson!! It is laugh out-loud funny! Love all the eccentric characters in this “so much fun” series!!
Debby Guardino said,
November 2, 2012 @ 8:46 pm
I am an Early Childhood Special Education teacher. I love Mercy Watson. If I win I am going to donate the book / prize awarded to a teachers whose class was impacted by the hurricane in NYC or NJ.
Laurie Harrison said,
November 2, 2012 @ 9:30 pm
“Because of Winn-Dixie” is on my Goodreads to read shelf–I’ll kill two birds with one stone by listening to the audio version. I love to recommend great books in audio when patrons are going on a trip, especially when they are useful for families with multi-aged children. I always try to recommend audio books instead of DVDs for the car!
Beth Ferguson said,
November 2, 2012 @ 9:43 pm
My students (and myself) LOVE Because of Winn Dixie. I remember the first time I read it was right after it came out. I had the privilege of meeting Kate DiCamillo at the TLA conference. I LOVED hearing her story of how she got started and one of the 4th grade classes at my school at the time became “pen-pals” with her for that year. Now, I have gone back to the classroom and my 5th graders just LOVE hearing me read Because of Winn Dixie aloud to them. They form a bond to India Opal and just love to see the relationships that develop over the course of the book.
Tara Thomas said,
November 3, 2012 @ 8:39 am
The Mercy Watson series is asked for everyday in my library, especially by my first and second grade girls!
Rhonda P. said,
November 3, 2012 @ 2:01 pm
I love The Tale of Despereaux and Because of Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie actually brought tears to my eyes when Winn-Dixie was “lost” during the storm. I just love dogs! Great author and great giveaways!
Rebecca Wilson said,
November 3, 2012 @ 2:23 pm
I’ve never read any of these books, but by the comments any of them would be an awesome addition to our classroom library. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Sally Mays said,
November 3, 2012 @ 9:36 pm
Hello! As an elementary school Teacher Librarian I love the Mercy Watson series for my beginning chapter book readers.
As a friend to my 5th graders who eventually become, middle schoolers,I recommend Tiger Rising quite a bit. They tell how much it speaks to them.
As reader myself, I was shaken and uplifted by the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. This book gave me both tears and cheers!
Dawn Keenan said,
November 4, 2012 @ 9:19 am
I would have to say my favorite is the Mercy Watson series. Pigs rule!
Amy said,
November 5, 2012 @ 8:23 am
I love The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane! Great story! My students love the Mercy Watson series.
BellaOnBooks said,
November 5, 2012 @ 3:16 pm
Hmm… My favorite has to be Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise. It’s a great group read-aloud for Halloween!
(But Bink and Gollie is a VERY close second.)
Jane OMalley said,
November 6, 2012 @ 9:33 am
Edward Tulane is one of my all-time favorite characters. He handles the tough side of life with such dignity. My kids (K-5), of course love Winn-Dixie and Mercy, but Edward has a special place in my heart.
D Ohlgren (@ohlgrend) said,
November 7, 2012 @ 6:24 pm
My favorite is The Tiger Rising because a fifth grade boy told me that his was favorite book of all time. I then read it and loved it, too.
Jess Valasek said,
November 8, 2012 @ 9:35 am
I may owe my career to Because of Winn-Dixie. Long ago as a young undergrad in a children’s lit class Winn-Dixie found me. While the the introduction to Winn-Dixie in chapter one got me reading, by the end of chapter two I was in love. A few hours later, after being hulled up in my closet, I finished and found a book I would love forever. Since then, not only have I read it to nearly all my own classrooms, book talked it to the many classes I’ve substituted in and put it into countless hands in the library, but I have fallen in love with all children’s literature. So much so that I decided to surround myself with it and move from the classroom to the library. Like so many others, Mercy Watson is becoming a favorite as well, but my newest love affair is with Bink and Gollie. Another book with fantastic characters. I can’t wait for more in the series.
Heather said,
November 10, 2012 @ 7:22 am
We just read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane aloud in second grade and the children loved it! They also love Mercy Watson! Her adventures are hilarious and at just the right level for students beginning chapter books!
Kristin Springer said,
March 3, 2013 @ 2:02 pm
We love Mercy Watson and especially love reading about her and “Leroy Ninker.”. My daughter also loves Eugenia and Baby Lincoln. Great series. When do we get to watch the cartoon or read book #7??