I’ve been remiss with Must Read Monday for the last few weeks, so it’s nice to welcome it back for its twelfth edition!

Must Read Monday is where I spotlight current and/or upcoming releases I am looking forward to. The lists will include all genres I like to read, everything from picture books to comics, children’s lit to adult fiction!

This week, I am featuring Ben Hatke’s upcoming graphic novel release and the fourth Timmy Failure book from Stephan Pastis.

Little Robot by Ben Hatke
Expected publication: September 1, 2015 by First Second
Book Description:

When a little girl finds an adorable robot in the woods, she presses a button and accidentally activates him for the first time. Now, she finally has a friend. But the big, bad robots are coming to collect the little guy for nefarious purposes, and it’s all up to a five-year-old armed only with a wrench and a fierce loyalty to her mechanical friend to save the day!

Ben Hatke’s work– which includes the excellent Zita the Spacegirl series– is beautiful. His illustrative work is distinctive and stunning, always fresh and out of the ordinary. He also features adventurous and brave young female heroines as his protagonists which is awesome! By my love and appreciation of Zita alone- for both the artwork and the storytelling- I have pretty much placed everything to come from Hatke on my must-read list.

Timmy Failure: Sanitized for Your Protection (Timmy Failure #4) by Stephan Pastis
Expected publication: October 6, 2015 by Candlewick Press
Book Description:

In this fourth volume of Timmy Failure’s memoirs, Timmy is forced to hit the road in a cross-country trip that includes Timmy’s mom, Total the polar bear, Doorman Dave, and smells-like-a-tangerine criminal mastermind Molly Moskins. It’s a world gone mad, where good becomes bad, and Timmy Failure is a condemned man.

I have mentioned Pastis and Timmy Failure more than once on this site! I have loved Pearls Before Swine for a number of year and now I have the great Timmy to love. If you haven’t yet read this children’s series and are wondering ‘should I?’. Well, I would recommend it! Readers who enjoy Gordan Korman, Louis Sachar, Jennifer L. Holm, Jeff Kinney, Tom Angleberger, and altogether oddball, irregular, and unexpectedly riotous things (with some gut-punches of sadness), then this is for you.

If you’d like to join Must Read Monday, please do! Link up or leave a comment about what you’re looking forward to reading- I love to hear what other readers have on their radar!