Meet "detective" Timmy Failure, star of the kids’ comedy of the year. Created by New York Times best-selling cartoonist Stephan Pastis.
Take Timmy Failure — the clueless, comically self-confident CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the nation. Add his impressively lazy business partner, a very large polar bear named Total. Throw in the Failuremobile — Timmy’s mom’s Segway — and what you have is Total Failure, Inc., a global enterprise destined to make Timmy so rich his mother won’t have to stress out about the bills anymore. Of course, Timmy’s plan does not include the four-foot-tall female whose name shall not be uttered. And it doesn’t include Rollo Tookus, who is so obsessed with getting into "Stanfurd" that he can’t carry out a no-brainer spy mission. From the offbeat creator of Pearls Before Swine comes an endearingly bumbling hero in a caper whose peerless hilarity is accompanied by a whodunit twist. With perfectly paced visual humor, Stephan Pastis gets you snorting with laughter, then slyly carries the joke a beat further — or sweetens it with an unexpected poignant moment — making this a comics-inspired story (the first in a new series) that truly stands apart from the pack.
- Assorted Kids Books
- Candlewick
- Manufactured by: Random House
- Height: 11.380 inches. Width: 5.500 inches.
- Seller SKU: 201400015606 UPC:
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful.
The latest reason why I'm about to buy a segway...or a polar bear.
By Amazon Customer
Okay, so let me begin by mentioning my age and my interest in reading this book. I'm 24 and about a year off from being the greatest elementary teacher the world has ever seen! This past year or so I've been reading books to stock my classroom library with for my students to read. Also, to note, I've just become an avid reader and the only books of interest at the moment are the ones I will one day have available for my students. Okay, now for the review.I absolutely refuse to sugarcoat this review but this book was three parts incredible and twelve parts amazing. The characters were enjoyable, the writing was clever and comical, and the storyline was stellar. This was a book that anyone with a good sense of humor will enjoy at any age. One of the more cohesive aspects, to me, was the dialogue. I found it overwhelmingly believable, even if Timmy sometimes spoke to an intellectual level that would normally seem a little out of reach for his age--it was his character that made it believable and subsequently hilarious.Even though the main rivalry in the book seems a bit one-sided, Timmy more than makes up for it by his most astute observations. He also makes up for the antics of his polar bear partner who seems to get in the way more often than he helps. Timmy Failure is quickly on his path to greatness, though he would probably argue he's already most of the way there.In all honesty, this book made me laugh out loud on a consistent basis. I simply could not put it down. And it's because of all these reasons that Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made is the most exciting series I've ever cracked into and even though I do not know when book No. 2 will be written/made available to the general public, it will be all I desire until I can have it. As a future teacher, and hopefully a future parent, this book is not only great for entertaining children of all ages, it's also loaded with tremendous potential for engaging mini-lessons that students will enjoy doing!
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful.An Amazing Debut Novel That's Perfect For All Ages
By Jonathan Balofsky
This is the debut novel from Stephan Pastis, creator of the amazing comic strip Pearls Before Swine. While his comic might not be all ages material this book sure is. The characters are fun and well written with an engaging plot. Timmy Failure ( yes that's his name) is an ambitious boy who wants to run a detective agency to get money to help his mother but has competition from his rivals ( and other reasons). He gets some help from his partner, a polar bear named Total in forming Total Failure. With a name like that what can go wrong?From the very first line the book draws you in and makes you fall in love with its universe and the writing only gets stronger from there. This has been described as the next diary of a wimpy kid and as a cross between diary and calvin and hobbes and the influence of the latter on Pastis is undeniable as seen in the protagonist, who has many qualities shared by Calvin ( He has noted the influence himself several times in the past). Personally I think the book is its own thing and can stand on its own merits.While there are quite a few plot threads that seem to get dropped without much explanation, readers will still be satisfied. While this is a kids book officially, it is really for all ages as adults will appreciate some parts that kids might not.Timmy is a protagonist who is an outsider of sorts but comments on the adult world in a way that anyone who is frustrated can relate to. The unreliable narrator in fiction is not always done well but Pastis nails it here.All in all a great novel for kids nine and up and for adults and teens as well.Happy reading!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
A Hit With 4th Graders
By N. Bilmes
The kids in my class like this book a lot. There is actually a waiting list in my classroom posted on the board so the kids know who will be reading my one copy next.As for the book itself, the plot is insane, the pictures are mediocre, and the main character is an absolute weirdo. He's a smart kid with no concept of reality (is the polar bear real, or is it like Hobbes?) as he goes from one misadventure to the next.There are some absolutely hilarious bits mixed in with some absolutely awkward ones, but for me the bottom line is that some of my reluctant readers have really embraced the story and are loving the book.
