Frozen in Time

December 16, 2024
Dempsey spins an energetic time-travel yarn in this graphic novel debut. Penguin chums Pablo and Splash think they’re going on a simple vacation to visit their human friend Professor O’Brain, initially portrayed with pink hair and pale skin. But when they arrive—via a topsy-turvy tunnel from their polar dwelling to the professor’s lab—and find that O’Brain has vanished, cautious Pablo’s desire for a relaxing retreat dissolves (adventurous Splash, meanwhile, is excited for the excursion). They soon learn that Professor O’Brain’s sentient—and snarky—invention, TimeBender, has abandoned its creator 68,000 years in the past, in “Ice Age. Northern Europe.” And if the penguin duo wants to rescue her, they must leave her cozy, snack-filled abode for unfamiliar, bison-populated terrain. Time-travel
shenanigans add an unexpected bent to Splash’s devil-may-care nature and Pablo’s more sensible demeanor, which evoke
Odd Couple dynamics familiar to the
genre. Bouncy and brightly colored illustrations are accompanied by scientific facts surrounding the climate and animal extinction throughout. It’s a simultaneously chuckle-inducing and touching series launch that teaches about the value of home and friendship and encourages
readers to be curious and seek adventure. Ages 7–10. Agent: Sallyanne Sweeney, MMB Creative.

January 15, 2025
Penguin playmates Pablo and Splash tackle a literally mammoth challenge after an obstreperous time machine strands their mad scientist friend, Professor O'Brain, back in the ice age. Excitable Splash has a predictable reaction to the news that the light-skinned, pink-haired professor needs rescuing from Northern Europe 68,000 years in the past: "ROAD TRIP!!!!" Her timorous companion, recalling what happened the last time they climbed aboard the touchy, talking TimeBender, has an entirely different--and, as things turn out, all-too-prescient--take: "Great." Still, there's nothing for it but to mount a rescue, which leads to nerve-wracking encounters with a saber-toothed tiger, a herd of woolly mammoths, and a befuddled, brown-skinned Neanderthal (or, as Splash puts it, "Nanderfall") hunter who's briefly dumped into the modern world. Not to mention a momentous, if hilariously unlikely, discovery involving live earthworms and space-time-spanning wormholes. "OH MY COD," as Splash is wont to exclaim at these misadventures. Chortling readers may well have the same reaction, since in Dempsey's brightly colored and simply drawn panels, the wandering waddlers zigzag through time and space from prehistory to the Old West and finally back to their Antarctic flock, where for some reason, the tale of their adventures is met with skepticism! Go figure. Further lively antics from a pair of comical penguins.(Graphic adventure. 7-10)

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