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Summary
Summary
Want to aspire to greatness? Check out this new edition of Timmy Failure's first adventure.
He may be clueless, but the comically self-confident Timmy Failure is CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the nation.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Timmy Failure is the mastermind and CEO behind Total Failure Inc., a detective agency he runs out of his mother's closet with Total, his imaginary polar bear associate and business partner. Timmy becomes involved in several cases, including missing candy, missing shoes, and a toilet-papered house,. Then, to his horror, his Failuremobile, otherwise known as his mother's Segway, goes missing. Who is behind its disappearance? Timmy is sure it's the rival detective agency run by his classmate, the evil Corrina Corrina. He also finds himself dealing with his mother's new boyfriend, a new apartment, and a new teacher. With so many cases and so much change, can Timmy come out on top? Pastis's illustrated comic novel seems aimed at the Wimpy Kid readership judging by the cartoon drawings and the sarcastic male protagonist. Yet many of Timmy's escapades may go over this target audience's heads since the vocabulary is sophisticated. Timmy's apparent lack of common sense will also either delight students or turn them off completely. Jared Goldsmith does a fabulous job voicing all the characters, especially Timmy. Be sure to pair the audio with the print version.-Elizabeth Elsbree, Krug Elementary School, Aurora, IL (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Guardian Review
Not to be confused with the similar-sounding Barry Loser: I Am Not a Loser by Jim Smith, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made is by the US author/illustrator Stephan Pastis, and is a very American book indeed. Timmy inhabits an American world of butt-kissers, TP-ing (festooning a house in toilet paper), Hershey's Kisses, "Stanfurd" [sic], holiday brochures for Key West, and - most importantly - Segways. Timmy's mum uses a Segway (pictured), but Timmy often commandeers it as his failuremobile. Timmy, you see, as well as being a schoolkid, is a partner in his own detective agency, initially run out of a cupboard in his home. His business card reads: "Total Failure, Inc. (We won't fail despite what the name says)". The "Total" part comes from the name of the other partner in the firm: Total the polar bear. However crazy the story is - and, boy, is this book crazy, in a good way - Timmy's world is a "real" world of school, his single mum going on dates, and so on, with the exception of said bear. Total doesn't talk, and he behaves pretty much as a bear would, eating out of trash cans or munching on his favourite Rice Krispies Treats. But playground loner Timmy and his bear go everywhere together. Timmy is a dreadful detective, and Pastis has great fun making it patently obvious to the reader who it was who stole the candy or why a girl is hiding a shoe behind her back, while Timmy comes up with the most ridiculous and wonderfully misguided theories to explain the crimes. There are many laugh-out-loud moments, and Pastis's drawings are wonderful: characterful, endearing and downright silly. Like all detectives, Timmy has an arch-nemesis. In his case, it's rival schoolkid detective Corrina Corrina. We don't really know what she looks like because Timmy usually censors her image with a huge black square. Truth be told, he probably doesn't even register on her radar. Other characters include Flo, the librarian who wears a first world war German spiked helmet. His name isn't short for Florence, but for "Misshelve my books and the blood may FLOw", and he reads such dangerous-sounding books as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Complete Works of Emily Dickinson. Then there's Molly Moskins, the classmate with the goo-goo eyes who obviously has a thing for Timmy. (Not that he's noticed.) Whether children, growing up in a world of US cartoons and games, will find certain American aspects of this book easier to understand than this ancient reviewer is hard to guess, but ultimately, Timmy Failure is a fabulously fun read and the line drawings are a treat. It's original and quirky, with real heart. And - shucks - that's good enough for me. Philip Ardagh's The Grunts in Trouble, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is published by Nosy Crow. To order Timmy Failure for pounds 7.19 with free UK p&p call Guardian book service on 0330 333 6846 or go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop - Philip Ardagh Timmy's mum uses a Segway (pictured), but Timmy often commandeers it as his failuremobile. Timmy, you see, as well as being a schoolkid, is a partner in his own detective agency, initially run out of a cupboard in his home. His business card reads: "Total Failure, Inc. (We won't fail despite what the name says)". The "Total" part comes from the name of the other partner in the firm: Total the polar bear. Other characters include Flo, the librarian who wears a first world war German spiked helmet. His name isn't short for Florence, but for "Misshelve my books and the blood may FLOw", and he reads such dangerous-sounding books as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Complete Works of Emily Dickinson. Then there's Molly Moskins, the classmate with the goo-goo eyes who obviously has a thing for Timmy. (Not that he's noticed.) - Philip Ardagh.