Stephan Pastis is a cartoonist and a writer; he is well known for PEARLS BEFORE SWINE and for his New York Times bestseller LARRY IN WONDERLAND. TIMMY FAILURE: Mistakes Were Made is Pastis’ first book for young readers. He maintains a sarcastic wit throughout the entire story, not only in his writing but also with his hilarious illustrations.  

"Of course with any story, there is a lesson to be learned, and Pastis does a great job at portraying this in the end."

Timmy Failure is the owner and president of Total Failure Inc., a detective agency with two employees: Timmy and Total. Total is a giant polar bear that wandered from the Arctic all the way to Timmy’s lawn in search of food, where he now acts as Timmy’s assistant and accountant for the agency. Total Failure Inc. is currently located inside of a closet in his mother’s home. One day, Timmy plans on moving his office into an expensive high-rise apartment building, mostly to out-do Corrina Corrina, a.k.a. the “Evil One.” Timmy despises Corrina Corrina because she is the head of her own detective agency, as well. Anything and everything that goes awry in Timmy’s cases, he immediately points the blame at the “Evil One.” Timmy’s biggest case begins when his mother’s Segway (The Failure Mobile) gets stolen. He has his friend Rollo help him find some clues, yet his number one suspect is Corrina Corrina.

Of course with any story, there is a lesson to be learned, and Pastis does a great job at portraying this in the end. A lot can be taken away from this book. A child will relate to the humorous cartoons and the carefree imagination of Timmy. An adult will be able to see a little bit deeper into the storyline. Timmy’s mother struggles financially, and then they have to move into a smaller apartment where Timmy sleeps on a pullout couch. Timmy avoids these issues by spending all of his time looking for cases to solve or creating ones of his own; he is oblivious to the real world and his home life. However, certain problems arise in Timmy’s life, which creates a much bigger case to crack.