Timmy Failure: Mistakes were made by Stephan Pastis

Walker Books, 2013. ISBN 9781406339802.
Recommended. Mistakes were made introduces Timmy Failure, the quirky, enterprising eleven year old, CEO of detective agency Total Failure Inc. Apart from the name, Timmy's fledgling agency has many obstacles to overcome: his partner Total a polar bear with a penchant for eating from the clients' rubbish bins, Corporate Headquarters sited in his mother's closet and later the hallway of his apartment building, his mother, school, and best friend Rollo Tokus who has his heart set on attending 'Stanfurd'.
Timmy is a confident and optimistic character always looking to the future and sure of overcoming all obstacles and solving all cases, from stolen Halloween candy to deceased hamsters. His rival in the detective business, Corrina Corrina, is also involved as a suspect in the theft of his mother's Segway, aka the Failuremobile.
Timmy's finest success is in saving the national education system by taking on a case for the new teacher which involves finding him all the information he needs to teach the class and has the side effect of raising Timmy's grades from zero to B's along the way.
With the pen and ink cartoon illustrations, humorous easy to read text and short sharp chapters, I can see Timmy being popular with fans of the Wimpy Kid series. My favourite character, apart from the irrepressible Timmy, is Flo the Librarian, whose looks and reputation ensure his library is well respected and who 'reads books on how to kill things', like To Kill a Mocking Bird whilst supporting Timmy in odd ways.
Sue Keane