Now Look What You've Done

January 1, 2014

Gr 3-8-The too-smart-for-his-own-good kid detective is back for a second zany installment, along with his 1500-pound polar/bear business partner, Total. Timmy has big dreams for his crime-solving empire, fueled by his complete self-confidence, delusions of grandeur, and his assured win in a competition to find a stolen globe worth $500. But first, shenanigans are afoot and must be thwarted. Timmy is a wonderfully frustrating narrator. He is egotistical, oblivious to his own ineptitude, and blames any missteps on the shortcomings of others. Yet, as Timmy's grip on reality begins to weaken and his actions begin to alienate those around him, readers will nevertheless sympathize with his unraveling. Fans of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series (Abrams) or the "Big Nate" books (Andrew McMeel) will enjoy the sharp, ironic humor as well as the black-and-white comic illustrations. While some advanced vocabulary and a few adult-directed jokes and references may escape middle-grade readers, plenty of the puns, plays-on-words, and clever comedic timing will result in laugh-out-loud moments.-Elly Schook, Jamieson Elementary School, Chicago

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
If Inspector Clouseau were in grade school, he'd be Timmy Failure. Timmy has a secret admirer. He knows this, as he's received a note, covered in little hearts, that says, "You have a secret admirer!" His friends and relatives assume it's from Molly Moskins, since she follows him around saying, "Doesn't my Timmykins look handsomeful?"--and since another love note is signed, "LOVE MM (These are my initials)." Timmy assumes, with his typical logic, that the hearts are a coded death threat. "Think," he says to his great-aunt. "The heart is what keeps you alive." He has reason to be suspicious. He has very few admirers, partly because he keeps accusing his friends of crimes--especially Molly Moskins. In spite of that, they remain remarkably faithful and even help him solve the central mystery of the book, which loosely involves a detective contest at his school. Readers who found Timmy hard to take in his first book won't like him--or the terrible puns--any better here. (One chapter is titled "The Lying, the Watch, and the Poor Globe.") But his many fans will speed through the pages, and they'll love Pastis' illustrations, which feature an adorable polar bear shaped like a bowling pin. They may even adopt Timmy's motto: "When you lose hope, find it." A loonily intellectual alternative to that wimpy kid. (Comic mystery. 8-12)

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December 1, 2013
Grades 4-7 Timmy Failure, would-be supersleuth and self-anointed smartest person in the world, is back (Timmy Failure, 2013), and he has learned absolutely nothing from his previous adventure. Timmy; his mother; and his sidekick, the 1200 pound polar bear Total, have moved in with Great-Aunt Colander while his mom looks for a job. Great-Aunt Colander, widowed and trapped by the terms of her late husband's will, dreams of being an inventor. She is as successful an inventor as Timmy is a detective, and he initially has little patience for her. Yet Timmy generates staunch loyalty among those who know him best, and Great-Aunt Colander has a real affection for her clueless nephew, whose behavior and retreat into fantasy mask an anger he cannot articulate. Pastis (Pearls before Swine series) has a knack for comic timing, and the interplay between cartoon, text, and the absurdities of the story should continue to attract readers who wish they could shake their fists at the world with such inept panache. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Support is great for Pastis' second title about Timmy Failure and includes a major consumer advertising campaign and a 10-city author tour.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Timmy is back, clueless as ever, his sleuthing even clumsier than in the first installment. Timmy and his polar bear sidekick, Total, haplessly plow through the shenanigans thwarting Timmy's domination of the school detective competition. Great-aunt Coriander and her own wacky aspirations add a new layer to the winning combination of sardonically humorous text and pen-and-ink cartoons that has won Timmy many fans.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

December 3, 2012
Mysteries abound in the first children’s book from Pastis, creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. Who stole the Halloween candy of Timmy’s classmate Gabe? Who is the mysterious girl Timmy refuses to discuss? Why is no one fazed that Timmy has a pet polar bear named Total? Fortunately, Timmy is an aspiring detective, who believes his agency, Total Failure Inc. (“We won’t fail, despite what the name says”), is “on the verge of being a Fortune 500 company.” Unfortunately, Timmy is a terrible sleuth, who doesn’t leap to the wrong conclusions so much as cannonball into a swimming pool full of them. His narration reveals an impressive command of business-speak (he doesn’t talk with his single mother—he teleconferences), while the wide-eyed characters resemble a cross between the work of George Booth and Sara Varon. Pastis has assembled an eccentric and funny cast (running gags revolve around Total’s voracious appetite and a librarian who looks like one of the Hells Angels), yet there are also touching interactions to be found, particularly between Timmy and his mother. Ages 8–12. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House.