(3) 4-6 Timmy Failure series. Self-proclaimed detective Timmy Failure is back for his sixth caper, this one on his mom's honeymoon in Key West, Florida. Her husband, Doorman Dave, brings along his nephew Emilio Empanada, who becomes Timmy's new "unpaid intern" sidekick. Timmy again employs absurd logic to solve mysteries, including finding treasure from an unlikely source: his absentee dad. Bubbly black-and-white illustrations add visual humor on nearly every page.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(4) 4-6 Timmy Failure series. Banned from detective work, clueless Timmy faces piano lessons, a teachers' strike, his best friend's disappearance, and his mother's impending wedding in this fifth series entry. Effective pacing and text-and-illustration interplay keep the pages turning, even as plot lines become increasingly nonsensical and the laughs are somewhat less hearty. After four books, seeing (just a little) growth in Timmy would be welcome.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) 4-6 Timmy Failure series. The fourth installment of Timmy's wild antics finds him no more evolved as a detective. For this nonsensical case, Timmy embarks on a cross-country jaunt with nemesis Molly Moskins and his sidekick, bon-bon-eating polar bear Total. Here's more of the same ridiculous yet clever humor and droll cartoons expected of the series but with a touching conclusion that lends Timmy some welcome gravitas.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) 4-6 Timmy Failure series. The third go-around continues to charm. Pastis's winning formula of sardonic text and pen-and-ink cartoons sees clueless kid detective Timmy blunder through academic probation and search for the elusive "Miracle report" that just might save him. Not much changes for Timmy (except that the evil Corrina might not be so bad, after all...), but dedicated readers wouldn't want it any other way.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) 4-6 Timmy Failure series. Timmy Failure and his sidekick, Total, a 1500-pound polar bear, run a detective agency true to its name: Total Failure, Inc. The interplay of the slapstick text with the pen-and-ink illustrations is sardonic--hilariously so--and Timmy is an unreliable narrator done right. Adult cartoonist Pastis's humor may resonate more with grownups, but it offers plenty for younger readers as well.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen