Tag Archives: penguins

Review: Pablo and Splash: Frozen in Time by Sheena Dempsey

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,
Pablo and Splash: Frozen in Time by Sheena Dempsey

Pablo and Splash: Frozen in Time (Pablo & Splash #2)
Sheena Dempsey
Bloomsbury
Published March 4, 2025

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About Pablo and Splash: Frozen in Time

Time-traveling penguins Pablo and Splash must rescue their friend from the Ice Age in this brilliantly funny, full-color graphic novel for young readers.

Pablo and Splash go to visit Professor O’Brain in her lab, only to find that their friend has been left behind in the Ice Age by her misbehaving time machine. The brave penguin buddies set out on a rescue mission – destination 68,000 years ago! When a Neanderthal man accidentally wanders into their time machine, it’s not just the professor who is stuck in the wrong time period. But luckily a scientific breakthrough for Pablo and Splash’s endlessly upbeat approach to life’s challenges helps save the day!

The race against time – several times over! – makes this pacey and hilarious graphic novel irresistible. It’ll be a huge hit for fans of Bunny vs Monkey, Bumble and Snug, funny animal stories and light-hearted ancient history.

My Review

This cute follow-up to the first book in the series delivers more laughs and silly antics. Serious, routine-oriented Pablo and spontaneous, thrill-seeking Splash journey back in time to find missing Dr. O’Brain. It’s a funny, light-hearted story that introduces readers to some historical facts about Northern Europe during a glacial ice age.

While the book focuses mainly on the penguins’ adventure, Dempsey sneaks a few facts in here and there so that readers have an opportunity to learn and may not even realize it. Pretty clever!

The illustrations are playful and support the upbeat tone of the story. At the back, one section shows readers how to create different expressions on the penguins’ faces. There’s also a personality quiz in which readers can find out whether they’re more like Pablo or Splash.

It’s an easy read and a fun story that slips a little historical information into the text and entertains from start to finish. Readers who like animals or humorous stories will not want to miss this cute sequel.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to hunting animals. (No harming animals on the page.) References to someone kicking another character. (Happened off-page.)

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Pablo and Splash: Time-Traveling Penguins by Sheena Dempsey

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Pablo and Splash: Time-Traveling Penguins
Sheena Dempsey
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published September 3, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Pablo and Splash: Time-Traveling Penguins

Join time-traveling penguins Pablo and Splash on an unexpected adventure to the time of the dinosaurs in this hilarious full-color graphic novel, perfect for fans of Dog Man and InvestiGators.

Antarctic penguins Pablo and Splash are polar opposites and besties for life. Pablo is a home-bird and a careful planner. Splash is easily bored and hungry for adventure. Sick to her flippers of the harsh, freezing weather, Splash persuades Pablo to go on a beach vacation with her. When they accidentally find themselves in a scientist’s time machine, they end up on the beach….back in the age of dinosaurs! Can Pablo and Splash make their way home before they become dino snacks?

This full-color graphic novel is perfect for animal lovers, reluctant readers, and graphic novel fans!

My Review

This is a fun read. The story follows the duo Pablo (the practical, methodical penguin) and Splash (the creative dreamer) as they decide they need a vacation from the bitter cold of Antarctica. The character differences between the two penguins make for a lot of humorous moments and silliness that young readers will appreciate.

What could make a graphic novel about penguins even more fun? If you said dinosaurs, then this is the perfect book for you. Haha! What’s wild is that immediately when I saw this book, I thought of my nephew, who loves both penguins and dinosaurs and is going to think this is a hoot. So, weirdly, it’s not as niche a market as one might initially think.

Dino lovers will also appreciate that the dinosaur species are easily identifiable, and the story includes a bit of trivia about a few of the prehistoric animals that appear in the story. There are also a few facts about different prehistoric periods, with maps showing changes in land masses.

The book is about 220 pages, so it’s comparable to the length of the InvestiGators series books. Readers looking for a light, goofy graphic novel will get exactly that, with bonus science facts here and there.

This is definitely one I’ll keep around for the late elementary-aged readers in my life.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 7 to 10.

Representation
Main characters are a boy and girl penguin. There’s a female scientist who appears briefly.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. The penguins run from a scientist who appears to try to capture them. The capsule they hide in takes them on a journey with a destination of the sun, and they panic as the interior of the ship gets hotter and hotter before they’re able to change course.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

Check out the weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.