The Book You're Not Supposed to Have

July 1, 2016
Who could ban the world's greatest detective from detecting? In a word: mom. After the fiasco that was his last case (and Timmy Failure may not admit it, but which of his cases wasn't a fiasco?), his mother banned him from running his detective business...at least until the end of the school year. Thanks to a teacher's strike, the school year gets extended, but Timmy has too many important cases (not really) to wait. He sets up shop in the garden-shed section of the local Home Despot, and while attempting to survive piano lessons, orthodontist visits, his mother's wedding plans, and possibly homicidal cousins, he secretly continues to detect (even though his polar-bear assistant is too distracted by the $1 hot dogs sold nearby to do any assisting). When best friend Rollo Tookus goes missing, Timmy is on the case, hiring tangerine-scented Molly Moskins to help out. Will he find Rollo? Will Mom marry Doorman Dave? Will Timmy realize his detection skills rival those of the nearest rosebush? Cartoonist Pastis continues his heavily illustrated bestselling series with a fifth mystery that basically doesn't exist. Several chapter titles will be funny only to adults reading along, but the ample cartoons and clueless timfoolery will entertain all and sundry. Wittier than the Wimpy Kid and with a movie in the offing, the series can only gain fans. (Graphic/mystery hybrid. 7-12)

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December 3, 2012
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.