Publishers Weekly
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. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Timmy Failure is a winner!
—Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Timmy Failure is a fabulously fun read and the line drawings are a treat. It's original and quirky, with real heart.
—Philipp Ardagh
Pastis crafts a great story starring an unforgettable protagonist whose unorthodox approach to detective work (and world domination) will have readers in stitches. For Timmy Failure, success is the only option!
—Lincoln Peirce, creator of the Big Nate series
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...
—Publishers Weekly
…Readers should be simultaneously amused and touched by this quirky antihero.
—Booklist
The Pearls Before Swine cartoonist’s frequent black-and-white illustrations help to cast Timmy’s adventure in an appropriately ironic light. Timmy… has greatness in him. Just like all of us.
—Kirkus Reviews
Pastis, the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine, brings a wonderfully droll and playful humor to a younger audience, balancing more straightforward gags with bits of irony and sarcasm. The wide-eyed figures that populate Pastis’ pen and ink illustrations have a delightfully peculiar, coiled energy...but there’s a nice emotional element to Timmy’s relationship with his struggling single mom, and readers will find a few moments of poignancy amidst all the laughs.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Pastis ... peppers nearly every page of this comic romp with at least one intentionally amateurish black-and-white illustration, enhancing the laughs along the way as Timmy misses even the most obvious clues in Clouseauesque fashion. Middle grade readers will appreciate all the silly sleuthing and absurd details, and older readers–including parents who come along for the ride–will find a satisfying layer of more sophisticated humor, too.
—School Library Journal
It is, without a doubt, the best of the cartoonist fare...completely and utterly understanding its genre, its pacing, and the importance of leveling humor with down-to-earth human problems...Top notch stuff.
—A Fuse #8 Production
In his first foray into children's books, writer/cartoonist Stephan Pastis takes his befuddled character on a "rigorously fact-checked" series of misadventures that will delight kids and elicit more than a few chuckles from any adults lucky enough to read along.
—Bookpage Children's Corner
Timmy Failure is truly a book for all ages—older readers will love unraveling Timmy’s personal story and younger readers will be thoroughly entertained by his sloppy sleuthing skills.
—BookPage
Readers will quickly take to Timmy Failure, an unreliable narrator to stand alongside such antiheroes as Charlie Brown and Greg Heffley.
—Shelf Awareness
If this book doesn't make readers double over with laughter, then nothing will. Loaded with illustrations that are equally as hilarious as the story, this one is a guaranteed winner.
—Pocono Record (syndicated from Kendal Rautzhan)
Seldom has failure been so likable—or so funny.
—The Wall Street Journal
With its high-low mix of humor and surprisingly sophisticated storytelling...“Failure” is anything but.
—Austin American-Statesman
If 'Timmy Failure' was just a loose-knit story about an elementary school detective, it would still be hilarious. But Timmy's struggles and insecurities lend surprising depth. ... Laugh out loud funny. A great new hero.
—The Midwest Book Review
Kirkus Reviews
The great children's-book characters can get on your nerves. Eloise is a little spoiled. The Cat in the Hat refuses to listen to anyone else. Timmy Failure would be easy to actually hate. When he's taking a group test, he brings down everyone's score by drawing dot-to-dot pictures with the Scantron bubbles. When his teacher isn't looking, Timmy goes to the world map and draws the future offices of his detective agency, with a branch on every major continent. Timmy has already started solving crimes. His business is aptly called Total Failure, Inc. His neighbor Gunnar hires him to find some missing candy. Gunnar's brother is sitting in bed, with chocolate stains on his face. Candy wrappers are strewn all around. Timmy is stumped, though, because the brother has an alibi: He was eating candy. Timmy is a classic comic type: the person who's arrogant for no good reason. But Pastis keeps him from becoming unbearable by turning him into Walter Mitty. He's a lonely boy whose mother is dating a bowler, and he dreams of being the world's greatest detective. Who wouldn't? The Pearls Before Swine cartoonist's frequent black-and-white illustrations help to cast Timmy's adventure in an appropriately ironic light. Timmy may not be one of the great children's-book characters, but he has greatness in him. Just like all of us. (Comic mystery. 8-12)
