March Big Kid Pick: TImmy Failure

I went to the Austin Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference last month, and stopped into Austin's fantastic indie bookstore, BookPeople, which was Stephan Pastis' first stop in his book tour for Timmy Failure. The event signage caught my eye and the cover and title of this book were intriguing! The book doesn't disappoint. The humor is wry and the main character is engaging. And clueless.

Timmy is so clueless that when presented with his first case as a detective--to find a boy's missing Halloween candy--he completely overlooks the little brother, who has chocolate on his face and is surrounded by candy wrappers. With a polar bear as an unlikely sidekick, the story is good and the telling of it very clever! Highly recommended.

Stephan Pastis is also the creator of Pearls Before Swine, an acclaimed comic strip.

Timmy Failure
Author-illustrator: Stephan Pastis
Candlewick Press, 2013
304 pages, ages 8-12