Kid Konnection: Timmy Failure

Timmy Failure and Total, his faithful polar bear sidekick, run Total Failure, the best detective agency around.  Timmy’s working a couple of cases, all the while dealing with a teacher he finds dull, a friend he finds boring, and a girl he finds annoying.  Timmy’s mom is struggling financially but that will change when Total Failure becomes an international success and makes him rich.

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, by Stephan Pastis,  is a graphic novel of sorts for middle grade readers.  Timmy reminds me of Greg Heffley (of the Wimpy Kid books) with his superior attitude and penchant for finding trouble.  Timmy runs a detective agency – well, actually he’s ” building a detective agency empire.”  Things would be going better if he didn’t have to bother with school or deal with “The Beast,” a girl with a detective agency of her own.  It’s hard to say too much about the plot without giving things away, but Timmy finds himself in quite a bit of hot water, most of it funny, even if it is of his own making.  I laughed out loud quite a few times as I read this humorous book.

I thought the illustrations in this book were great and suited the story perfectly.   There is some humor that adults will appreciate more than children, so it would make a great book to share with a young reader.

I think Timmy Failure is a strong start to a new series.  I didn’t like it quite as much as I like the Wimpy Kid books, but I still thought it was great.  I think middle grade readers, especially boys, will enjoy it too.  I know I would have loved the detective agency aspect when I was a youngster.  I recommend this to middle grade readers who’ve enjoyed the Wimpy Kid or Nate the Great books.  This series has a lot of potential so I’ll definitely be watching for the next book.

For more children’s books reviews, go to Booking Mama’s feature, Kid Konnection. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, leave a comment as well as a link on her site.

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press. I am an Indiebound Affiliate.