- Graphic Novels
- Ages 6–9
- Comedy
Pablo and Splash
Book 1 of 4 in Pablo and SplashView the full series
A bright, very funny full-colour graphic novel about two opposite-personality penguin best friends accidentally time-travelling to the age of dinosaurs. It is a strong fit for Bunny vs Monkey, Dog Man and InvestiGators readers ready for a gentler but still zippy comic adventure.
- Best for6–9
- FormatGraphic
- Length240 pp
- Read aloud~1 hr55 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Adventurous
- Exciting
- Warm
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Pablo and Splash are penguin best friends, but they could hardly be more different. Pablo is careful, organised and happiest at home, while Splash is impulsive, bored and desperate for a holiday somewhere warmer than Antarctica. When Splash drags Pablo into an adventure, the pair end up not on a luxury beach but inside a time machine, travelling back to the age of dinosaurs. Suddenly the cold, familiar safety of home starts to look much more appealing. Sheena Dempsey's first author-illustrated graphic novel is full-colour, fast-moving and built around expressive comic dialogue between two lovable opposites. The book balances visual slapstick, time-travel silliness and genuine friendship warmth, making it particularly accessible for younger graphic-novel readers and children who want funny books with plenty of pictures and momentum.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 6–9
- Read aloud · 6–9
- Independent · 6–9
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Funny graphic novel
- Penguin adventure
- Time travel
- Dinosaur lovers
- Reluctant readers
Avoid if
- Wants dense prose
- Prefers realistic stories
- Wants low energy reading
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Struggling with reading
- Interested in science
- Making friends
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A funny time-travel adventure-comic series — a reluctant-reader pleaser and classroom-library pick.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is the opposite-penguins setup — Pablo careful and organised and happiest at home, Splash impulsive and bored and desperate for a warmer holiday, the time machine taking them not to a beach but to the age of dinosaurs. The Sheena Dempsey series opener for a Bunny vs Monkey / Dog Man reader ready for something gentler.
- Adventure and freedom
- Animal companions
- Friendship and belonging
- Surviving danger
- Time travel
Why parents love it
The Sheena Dempsey first author-illustrated graphic novel — opposite-personality friendship dynamic doing the emotional work, full-colour fast-moving panels keeping it accessible. Strong for younger graphic-novel readers who want momentum and pictures.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
- Conversation starter
In the series
Pablo and Splash.
4 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Sheena Dempsey.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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