Chris Van Dusen

Imaginative Jack describes the kind of school he would build--one full of animals, with tubes to transport students directly to their classrooms, and library books that come alive.

An encounter with a moose while they are learning to ski provides Mr. Magee and his dog with some unexpected excitement.

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. Can a young girl and an enormous lake monster become...

When an unexpected package containing an accordion arrives, Eugenia Lincoln tries to get rid of the instrument by selling it, destroying it, and giving it away, but nothing works.

What if timid Baby Lincoln broke free of her bossy sister and set off on an unexpected journey?

When Mercy Watson the pig goes missing, all of Deckawoo Drive is in an uproar. The Watsons are inconsolable, and the local police, fire, and animal control departments are no help whatsoever. Bossy neighbor Eugenia Lincoln is not quite as sad as she might be, but thankfully her sister, Baby Lincoln, has the idea to hire a private investigator. Granted, Percival Smidgely, PI, may be more bumbler than gumshoe, but his pigeon, Polly, is there to point...

Frank Endicott is a worrier. He worries about lions, submarines, black holes, leprosy, and armadillos. He lists his worries alphabetically in a notebook and suffers vivid nightmares that even a certain neighborhood pig can’t dispatch. When he accompanies Eugenia Lincoln on an errand to duplicate a key at her favorite dark and dusty thrift shop, Frank earns fresh cause for alarm. Odd Buddy Lamp, the shop’s proprietor, has sent them home with the...

Mercy the pig's love of buttered toast leads to the capture of a small thief who would rather be a cowboy. Leroy Ninker is a small man with a big dream: he wants to be a cowboy, but for now he's just a thief. In fact, Leroy is robbing the Watsons' kitchen right this minute! As he drags the toaster across the counter -- screeeeeech -- and drops it into his bag -- clannngggg -- little does he know that a certain large pig who loves toast with a great...

After Mercy Watson follows the delightful scent and delicious taste of the pansies her thoughtful neighbors plant to beautify their yard, animal control officer Francine Poulet is called out to handle the case, which brings unexpected results.

When Stella Endicott gets the sudden idea to go caroling, she has a little trouble getting anyone to join her. Her brother, Frank, is not good at spontaneity. The Watsons are very involved in a precarious baking endeavor. Eugenia Lincoln declines, a bit rudely, to accompany the singing on her accordion. And Horace Broom is too busy studying planetary movement. Will Stella need to sing by herself, accompanied only by the cacophonous contributions of...