Today is my spot on the blog tour for two brilliant books: Rudy and the Wolf Cub and Rudy and the Monster at School by Paul Westmoreland
Rudy and the Wolf Cub
With boundless energy and an impulsive nature, Rudy is always ready to follow the scent of adventure! And with his loyal pack of friends by his side there’s nothing he can’t achieve. When Rudy finds a lost wolf cub at the skatepark, he knows he has to help him. Rudy tries everything he can think of to find the cub’s pack, but they’re nowhere to be seen, or smelled, and time is running out. Can a howl in the night change the fate of the little cub? How-how-harrooooow! Howlingly cool illustrations and an irresistible character finding his way in the world make Rudy and the Wolf Cub the ideal choice for those looking to bridge the gap between picture books and independent reading.
My Review:
Both of these books have the most gorgeous illustrations and a stunning limited colour palette that brings a great atmosphere to these books. George Ermos has done an amazing job. I loved that Paul added character profiles at the start of the books to give us some insight into the characters. In this book particularly, I loved Rudy’s family dynamic: they are a pack and they stick together – it’s a lovely message to share with younger readers. Rudy and the Wolf Cub features a particularly adorable wolf cub, and I was a little disappointed that Rudy’s parents weren’t immediately swayed into letting him stay. I adored the way Rudy did his best to take care of Wolfie and to make sure that he was getting the very best home. The ending to this is super adorable and made me grin a lot.
Rudy and the Monster at School
With boundless energy and an impulsive nature, Rudy is always ready to follow the scent of adventure! And with his loyal pack of friends by his side there’s nothing he can’t achieve. There’s a new boy in Rudy’s school called Frankie, and everyone says he is SCARY. Which is really saying something, as Rudy’s class is full of ghosts and ghouls, and his teacher is a vampire. But when Frankie gets upset and runs away, Rudy knows he has to help him. The trouble is, Rudy’s wolf senses lead him towards the really spooky castle on the hill. Is Rudy brave enough to follow his nose, and find out the truth behind the monster at school? Howlingly cool illustrations and an irresistible character finding his way in the world make Rudy and the Monster at School the ideal choice for those looking to bridge the gap between picture books and independent reading.
My Review:
I dove striaght into the second Rudy book. Again, I really loved the images and the colour palette in this book. I really liked the way Rudy’s friendships were portrayed in this one; he has the best friends. Frankie, the new kid at school, doesn’t fit in because of his size and his species; the other kids judge him because he is a troll and they assume all the stereotypes about trolls are true of Frankie. This would be a great book to talk about all kinds of diversity with younger readers. I enjoyed seeing Wolfie again. I loved how this book showed Rudy doing the right thing and being Frankie’s friend even though the journey scared him. This book is packed with beautiful messages and would be a great one to share with yong readers over the spooky season.
Thanks to Oxford Children’s books for the review copies!
Charlotte, Somewhere 
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