The odd-couple trope in children’s books is most often seen in early readers and beginning chapters, from Elephant and Piggy to Pizza 
and Taco. Plots tend to shift towards a single protagonist or a group as they grow more complex, so it’s a clever creator who can maintain this dynamic in a graphic novel aimed at elementary-age students.
Pablo, a tall, skinny penguin, is perfectly happy living in the cold and snacking on krill pops. Splash, a short round penguin with a hat and scarf, is NOT. She wants to explore other places, preferably somewhere warm! She wants to go on… a vacation! When they fall into an underground lab and are captured by Professor O’Brain, they attempt to escape. A helpful “robot” invites them to hide inside of it… and turns out to be a time machine! Splash gets her vacation in a warm place after all – but it’s not what she imagined at all! She and Pablo will have to work together, combining Pablo’s patience and smarts and Splash’s enthusiasm and can-do attitude, if they’re going to make it home in one piece – and discover the secret plan of Professor O’Brain.
Dempsey’s art is bright and colorful, a good fit for her light-hearted and humorous story. The two penguins, with their unique body types, zip and bounce through the stark blue and whites of Antarctica, the warm underground yellows and browns of O’Brain’s lab, and the bright greens of their tropical destination. Time Bender, the time-traveling machine, is a round white orb, with a suspiciously grinning face and bland delivery of its lines, shown in an old-fashioned type. Professor O’Brain typifies a mad scientist, with a wild swirl of pink hair, pointed chin, and big goggles. She shows up at first in an ankle-length shirt dress, fuzzy slippers, and tool belt, and appears to be a villain, but by the end of the book her true colors show as she explains her plan with a friendly smile.
There is a lighter amount of text in this graphic novel, but it’s fairly complex, with puns, snarky jokes, and the penguin’s favorite exclamation, “for cod’s sake!” There’s also back matter with more in-depth and factual information about penguins, their time-travel destination, and Antarctica. Young readers who are fairly fluent, can handle different typefaces, and are comfortable with a thicker book but who prefer lighter, simpler storylines will be delighted to discover this goofy pair. This is also a good choice for kids who are reluctant to try longer or harder stories as the humor, fun illustrations, and rapid action will draw them into the story and encourage them to build their reading skills to decipher the story.
Pablo and Splash
By Sheena Dempsey
Bloomsbury, 2024
ISBN: 9781547616176
Company Age Rating: Matheson Memorial Library (public library, open to the public since June 2020)
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9), Middle Grade (7-11)
