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The Timmy Failure Series Written & Illustrated by Stephen Pastis

The Terrific Timmy Failure Series
Written and Illustrated by Stephen Pastis
is Reviewed by Dornel Cerro.

Introducing “the greatness that is Timmy Failure,” world class detective.

Timmy Failure MistakesMove over Inspector Jacques Clouseau, author/illlustrator Stephan Pastis has created your youthful equivalent in a humorous series about an overly-confident and hilariously clueless detective who dreams of taking his neighborhood detective agency global. Unfortunately there are some obstacles: his mother – who insists he goes to school, school – where he’s not doing so well, Rollo – his less than brilliant best friend, and Total – his 1500 pound polar bear partner. A polar bear for a partner? Yes, after hooking up with Timmy, Total insisted that the agency name start with his. Hence the less than inspirational agency name of “Total Failure.” (Timmy Fayleure’s name was changed to Failure).

Timmy is also challenged by his evil arch enemy, a fellow student so despised that her “…name shall not be uttered” and her face is blocked out in the deceptively simple illustrations in Timmy’s journal – a history of his invaluable expertise.

Highly imaginative situations, clever word plays, and puns on popular culture are part of the series’ humor and mask some deeper issues. Superficially we have a young bumbling Clouseau-like detective who misses the most basic of clues. When investigating the death of a friend’s hamster, Timmy doesn’t ask obvious questions like has it been fed lately? Rather he asks if the hamster had any enemies. Another friend hires Timmy to find out who toilet papered his house. Timmy initially deduces that only monkeys could have climbed high enough to hang toilet paper from the treetops. Readers will quickly grasp that Total Failure, Inc. is not exactly on the road to international success.

We also see Timmy struggling with an active imagination which causes him to lose focus, impacting his school performance. He has difficulty forming healthy relationships: when frustrated, he refers to other people as “stupid.” He is obsessed with his goal and sees everything in relationship to his detective agency. He treats his mom like an employee, scheduling teleconferences, annual reviews, etc. However, poignant moments emerge: when his detective instincts tell him that his mom seems troubled, he tells her she doesn’t have to read him a bedtime story. Eventually, Timmy benefits from sympathetic adult support. His mom takes charge, structures his life, sends him to a therapist and encourages him to become more involved in the world around him. A new teacher finds an innovative way to engage him in school by “hiring” him to “investigate” the “mysteries” of fractions, and photosynthesis. By the third book, Timmy and the other main characters show much personal and social growth.

While this is not another Diary of a Wimpy Kid spinoff, it will be enjoyed by that series’ fans and reluctant readers. Sophisticated humor, including popular culture references (like “A Hitchhikers Guide to Grade School” chapter title) will tickle the funny bone of older readers. Challenging issues (single parent families, learning styles, and successful relationships) and amazing vocabulary (debilitating, farce, intimidating, and Timmy’s favorite outcry “mendacity”) will engage all readers. This middle grade fiction novel is highly recommended for ages 8-12.

Pastis, creator of the “Pearls Before Swine” comic strip, has an awesome Timmy Failure website with links to YouTube videos, information about the books, author interviews, vocabulary flashcards and more. Visit it here at www.timmyfailure.com.

Series Titles and summary (all titles written and illustrated by Stephen Pastis and published by Candlewick Press):

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (No.1). 2013. $14.99
In which we are introduced to the young CEO and president of Total Failure, Inc., “…the best detective agency in town…” and the obstacles he faces (mother, school, and an evil nemesis) in realizing his goal of global expansion.

Timmy Failure: Now Look What You’ve Done (No. 2). 2014. $14.99
In which our extraordinary detective enters a school contest to find a stolen globe … but is someone trying to prevent him from solving the case? Join Timmy, Total, and his kooky Aunt Colander, as they set out to solve the mystery of the missing globe, avenge the integrity of the competition, and hopefully win the $500  prize.

Timmy Failure: We Meet Again (No. 3). Release date: October, 2014. $14.99
In which we find our intrepid detective on academic probation and forced to collaborate on a nature report with his evil nemesis. He is hired by a desperate student to find the lost Miracle Report, an old research paper that could give Timmy and others an A++++++. Surprises abound!

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The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson

Wanted: A Smart, Cool & Capable Con Artist –
The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson,
reviewed today by Hilary Taber.

Saving the school — one con at a time.

A Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book of 2014.

– ☆ Kirkus, Starred Review

 

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The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson, Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic Books, 2014.

At the bookstore where I work, every so often I get a book request that goes like this, “Do you know a book that’s like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, only it’s for kids?” Evidently, mom or dad is a fan of the movie, and the whole family just watched it together for the first time. It’s usually this family’s son (now a fan of Ferris as well) who is looking for a book with a character like Ferris; someone who is young, smart, capable, and cool. For this reason alone, I am so grateful that Varian Johnson wrote The Great Greene Heist (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic,  $16.99, Ages 10-15) because only now do I finally have a book that I can recommend to them!

Jackson Greene is not your average middle schooler. Despite being the son of a police officer, he’s been well trained by his grandfather to be (allegedly) a con artist. Now, let me be very clear that Jackson’s cons are Robin Hood in nature. He’s on the side of the angels. Well, more specifically there’s one main angel, and that would be Gaby.

Gaby is Jackson’s friend and possible girl friend. There’s one problem though, and that is that Gaby is not anything close to being Jackson’s friend when the book begins. Let’s just say they have had a bit of a falling out. Just goes to show you that life is tough because not only did Jackson Greene have to turn over a new leaf after the last con he pulled for a good cause, he also now begins to see that Gaby’s run for student council president isn’t going well.

Gaby is running against her classmate, Keith. Keith is the kind of person who will pull any strings he can (such as paying off the school principal with a little help from his dad) to win against Gaby. Jackson Greene may have tried to reform, but he can’t just stand by and watch Gaby lose to Keith. Jackson has to think of the best con he could ever pull to ensure that Keith will be defeated. If there’s one thing that Jackson knows it’s that he has to be Gaby’s friend once again, and if he has to con on the side of justice he will! He’ll definitely need a lot of help along the way, and it’s a good thing that one of the most important things that Jackson knows how to do well is how to be a good friend. He’ll need all his friends now more than ever before if he’s going to successfully pull off the Great Greene Heist.

The real draw of the book, as many other reviewers have noted, is that here we have the dream of independence in the familiar setting of middle school. Only this time that dream has come true to a great extent because of the character of Jackson Greene. Here’s a kid who is in middle school, who is definitely a leader, but he never uses that against other kids. Jackson is the kind of leader who knows when to pass the ball, so to speak, to another kid if that’s what it takes to get the job done. He also knows how to get what he wants with a little help from his friends even if bending the rules is what it takes.

What I love about this book is that the array of characters is so diverse. Just look at that cover! Could you ask for more diversity than that? I have to admit I teared up a bit at just the mention of Jackson’s friend, Gaby, going to Mass because I am Roman Catholic. Going to Mass is just not something that gets mentioned much in children’s literature. Plus, in this book, it’s more than okay to be something of a geek, especially if you’re at all inclined towards the tech side of geekdom because you will be needed in any con Jackson Greene has going. I was so happy to see that! Perhaps the biggest surprise for me came when I read about Megan, cheerleader and proud geek. Yes! I almost cheered myself! I know girls who are like Megan, and I’m proud of them. No, they usually aren’t cheerleaders as well, but they do know their way around a computer. They watch Star Wars, Star Trek, they love gaming, and they often feel left out in this usually male geek dominated world. In The Great Greene Heist we will have no more of that thanks to Varian Johnson! There’s something here for just about everyone. Are you the sports type? No problem, Jackson and Gaby are, too. How about student government type? Student government was never so interesting as in this book. Do you tend to associate with the art crowd? Again, you’re represented. Thanks so much to Varian Johnson who shows us that, for the cause of justice, we are all needed, appreciated, and finally very close to being totally represented.

Buy the book today at your favorite indie bookstore and take the Great Greene challenge. Click here for more details.

 

 

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Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle

Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle is reviewed by MaryAnne Locher.

– ⭐︎ Starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus

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Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014.

I had the privlidge of hearing Tim Federle speak at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books a little over a year ago. Taken by his personal story as well as his charm and sense of humor, I bought his then newly released debut novel, Better Nate Than Ever, and, of course, had him sign it. Little did I know that his book would become one of my favorite middle grade novels in addition to being the most talked about middle grade book of 2013!

Fast forward a year plus later. I’ve now been given the opportunity to review Federle’s fabulous follow-up called Five, Six, Seven, Nate! (Simon & Schuster 2014; $16.99, Ages 10-14).

Nate Foster is your not-so-average kid from Jankburg, Pennsylvania. He’s never really fit in with the other boys. He prefers practicing his singing and acting with his best friend and self-appointed acting coach, Libby. Much to his family’s chagrin, Nate’s landed the role of second understudy for E.T. in E.T.: The Broadway Musical. The only reasons his parents let him chase his dream of becoming an actor are his Aunt Heidi, an aspiring actor herself who lives in New York City, and because Nate is drawing an income from the production.

Nate finds out that Broadway is not all glitz and glamour, people and situations are not always as they first appear to be, and hard work sometimes pays off, despite a lack of formal training. Federle addresses difficult topics and feelings encountered by this late tween/early teen age group with both honesty and sensitivity. This heartfelt coming of age book with its diverse cast of characters is truly inspiring and takes the reader through a gamut of emotions. Bravo! I look forward to future Federle performances.

See Tim Federle discuss writing for kids in this New York Times video.

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Mr. and Mrs. Bunny – Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath

Hopping Good Fun! Mr. and Mrs. Bunny – Detectives Extraordinaire! by Mrs. Bunny (Schwartz & Wade, trade paperback, $8.99, Ages 8-12), Translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath, illustrated by Sophie Blackall and reviewed by Hilary Taber.

Madeline has had a very rough time lately. Her hippie parents have been kidnapped! The only lead Madeline has is a note left on the refrigerator written in code. She’s also been the witness of a most amazing thing. She thinks she saw a car full of foxes, with a fox for a driver, leaving her small hometown around the time that her parents went missing. With only these leads to go on, Madeline meets Mr. and Mrs. Bunny who are just as astonished as Madeline to learn that she can understand Rabbit. Madeline, amazingly enough, understands every word Mr. and Mrs. Bunny say!

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Mr. and Mrs. Bunny – Detectives Extraordinaire! By Mrs. Bunny. Translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath with illustrations by Sophie Blackall, Schwartz & Wade.

The story takes many amusing detours, and Madeline learns something wonderful about her parents. For all their annoying candle making, jewelry making, and general hippie ways, she loves them dearly. Madeline misses her parents so much that she is willing to trust two sometimes muddled, always adorable (and even occasionally correct) fedora-wearing rabbits in order to get them back.

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny have their own story, of course, as to why they are interested in solving crimes. One day Mrs. Bunny said to Mr. Bunny, “I think we should be detectives!” Mr. Bunny, she firmly believes, should give up his job, they should immediately go buy fedoras, and therefore be detectives. Mr. Bunny does bring up a sore point though, which is that they have no license to prove that they are, in fact, detectives. To that bit of logic Mrs. Bunny replies, “I think fedoras are enough. Anyone who sees a bunny in a fedora will not feel the need to see a license.”

At this point in the story I was more than amused. I was laughing and reading parts of it aloud to my family. Although it is extremely funny, this book delves down deeper. It seeks to answer the eternal question, “Why do I put up with my crazy family? Why do I love them so much that I would do anything for them?” while adding detective bunnies on the side. You just can’t ask much more than that from a book. There is a sequel out now titled Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-Almost Royalty, which I am looking forward to reading very much! Well done, Polly Horvath!

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Lord and Lady Bunny – Almost Royalty! By Mr. & Mrs. Bunny. Translated from the Rabbit by Polly Horvath, Schwartz & Wade, 2014.

This book would unquestionably make an adorable gift to fans of Mr. Roald Dahl’s or even Mr. Lemony Snicket’s books. Horvath is just as clever, but infinitely sweeter. Additionally, her characters are just as much fun. Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-Detectives Extraordinaire! won a Parent’s Choice Gold Award, and got starred reviews from The Horn Book Review, Booklist, and Publisher’s Weekly. As if that were not enough, there is a bonus to these books because Mrs. Bunny has her very own blog! It’s not a mystery why your children should be reading these books now, is it? No, it’s more a mystery why we aren’t all reading these books because they are so much fun! Case closed!

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