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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Rudy is no lone wolf - he knows the power of the pack and he wants you to join him on his next adventure!
HOW-HOW-HAARROOOOWW!
When Rudy and Edie go to Femi’s house for a sleepover, they discover that their friend has been keeping a secret: Femi sleepwalks! And when Rudy accidentally leaves the bedroom window open he learns that not only does Femi walk in his sleep, he also skateboards in his sleep. At great speed.
Can Rudy guide Femi back to safety before everything starts to feel like a very bad dream?
Rudy and Edie have been invited to Femi’s house for a sleepover and although Rudy is excited at the idea of having a midnight feast and playing the new Rock Fortress game, he’s disappointed because Femi’s parents don’t like pets, which means that Wolfie (Rudy’s pet wolf cub) is going to miss out on all the fun.
But Femi’s home is very different to Rudy’s. He lives with his parents, three sisters (Raziya, Tabia and Zahara) and a grandma who likes to watch TV on full volume, which means that Femi, Rudy and Edie can’t play Rock Fortress plus the family eat really strange food made with different spices that make Rudy’s nose twitch and Femi isn’t keen when Rudy suggests howling at the full moon because he doesn’t think his family would like it. All in all, the sleepover is turning into a massive disappointment and Rudy’s beginning to wonder if he and Femi even work as friends.
When Rudy sneaks out anyway to howl at the moon, he leaves the skylight open and Femi sleepwalks out into the night. Warned by Femi’s sisters that they can’t wake him, Rudy and Edie follow him to try and stop him from getting into harm, only to discover that Femi is a lot more daring when he sleep skates than when he skateboards while awake …
The third in Paul Westmoreland’s RUDY SERIES for readers aged 5+ is an okay read that sees Rudy go for his first sleepover only to be perturbed by how strange it all is. I enjoyed the dynamism of George Ermos’s illustrations (especially the depiction of Femi’s family) but I wasn’t particularly sympathetic to Rudy’s behaviour, which was quite rude while his questioning of his friendship with Femi was a touch overblown.
I had not read the previous two books in this series, but you don’t really need to in order to follow this as it’s a self-standing story. It’s easy to pick up that Rudy, Femi and Edie are all friends who enjoy skateboarding and computer games like most kids - the only difference is that Rudy is a werewolf, Femi a mummy and Edie a ghost.
This book tackles the subject of sleepovers and how it can be quite an uncomfortable experience going to a friend’s house where everything is different to how things are done at home. I did have some sympathy for Rudy not being used to having fancier food with more spices but equally the way he goes about dealing with it was a bit rude as he doesn’t even try it and I did kind of wish that Edie had called him on it - especially when he does eventually try the biscuits that Femi’s mum made and discovers that they’re delicious.
Rudy’s also very rude in deciding to howl at the moon when Femi makes clear that his parents wouldn’t like it and although Edie does call him on that, I would have preferred it had there been something from Femi’s point of view because he is clearly worried about having his friends over and how they react to his home. In fact, I spent a lot of the book feeling quite sorry for Femi because his sisters tease him over his sleepwalking and he clearly wants this to go well and instead Rudy wonders if they’re even supposed to be friends, which seemed quite bratty.
Femi’s sleep skating adventures are quite amusing and I enjoyed how Edie and Rudy try to stave him from disaster. George Amos’s illustrations work particularly well in those scenes because they do a good job of conveying the action and speed of the events. I also enjoyed the 50s retro vibe to Amos’s illustrations, which use red as a strong accent colour.
All in all, this isn’t a bad book and ultimately it is about friends supporting each other and learning to appreciate differences but I can’t say that I particularly warmed to Rudy and I’m not sure that this is a series I would hurry back to.
The Verdict:
The third in Paul Westmoreland’s RUDY SERIES for readers aged 5+ is an okay read that sees Rudy go for his first sleepover only to be perturbed by how strange it all is. I enjoyed the dynamism of George Ermos’s illustrations (especially the depiction of Femi’s family) but I wasn’t particularly sympathetic to Rudy’s behaviour, which was quite rude while his questioning of his friendship with Femi was a touch overblown.
RUDY AND THE SECRET SLEEPSKATER was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
HOW-HOW-HAARROOOOWW!
When Rudy and Edie go to Femi’s house for a sleepover, they discover that their friend has been keeping a secret: Femi sleepwalks! And when Rudy accidentally leaves the bedroom window open he learns that not only does Femi walk in his sleep, he also skateboards in his sleep. At great speed.
Can Rudy guide Femi back to safety before everything starts to feel like a very bad dream?
Rudy and Edie have been invited to Femi’s house for a sleepover and although Rudy is excited at the idea of having a midnight feast and playing the new Rock Fortress game, he’s disappointed because Femi’s parents don’t like pets, which means that Wolfie (Rudy’s pet wolf cub) is going to miss out on all the fun.
But Femi’s home is very different to Rudy’s. He lives with his parents, three sisters (Raziya, Tabia and Zahara) and a grandma who likes to watch TV on full volume, which means that Femi, Rudy and Edie can’t play Rock Fortress plus the family eat really strange food made with different spices that make Rudy’s nose twitch and Femi isn’t keen when Rudy suggests howling at the full moon because he doesn’t think his family would like it. All in all, the sleepover is turning into a massive disappointment and Rudy’s beginning to wonder if he and Femi even work as friends.
When Rudy sneaks out anyway to howl at the moon, he leaves the skylight open and Femi sleepwalks out into the night. Warned by Femi’s sisters that they can’t wake him, Rudy and Edie follow him to try and stop him from getting into harm, only to discover that Femi is a lot more daring when he sleep skates than when he skateboards while awake …
The third in Paul Westmoreland’s RUDY SERIES for readers aged 5+ is an okay read that sees Rudy go for his first sleepover only to be perturbed by how strange it all is. I enjoyed the dynamism of George Ermos’s illustrations (especially the depiction of Femi’s family) but I wasn’t particularly sympathetic to Rudy’s behaviour, which was quite rude while his questioning of his friendship with Femi was a touch overblown.
I had not read the previous two books in this series, but you don’t really need to in order to follow this as it’s a self-standing story. It’s easy to pick up that Rudy, Femi and Edie are all friends who enjoy skateboarding and computer games like most kids - the only difference is that Rudy is a werewolf, Femi a mummy and Edie a ghost.
This book tackles the subject of sleepovers and how it can be quite an uncomfortable experience going to a friend’s house where everything is different to how things are done at home. I did have some sympathy for Rudy not being used to having fancier food with more spices but equally the way he goes about dealing with it was a bit rude as he doesn’t even try it and I did kind of wish that Edie had called him on it - especially when he does eventually try the biscuits that Femi’s mum made and discovers that they’re delicious.
Rudy’s also very rude in deciding to howl at the moon when Femi makes clear that his parents wouldn’t like it and although Edie does call him on that, I would have preferred it had there been something from Femi’s point of view because he is clearly worried about having his friends over and how they react to his home. In fact, I spent a lot of the book feeling quite sorry for Femi because his sisters tease him over his sleepwalking and he clearly wants this to go well and instead Rudy wonders if they’re even supposed to be friends, which seemed quite bratty.
Femi’s sleep skating adventures are quite amusing and I enjoyed how Edie and Rudy try to stave him from disaster. George Amos’s illustrations work particularly well in those scenes because they do a good job of conveying the action and speed of the events. I also enjoyed the 50s retro vibe to Amos’s illustrations, which use red as a strong accent colour.
All in all, this isn’t a bad book and ultimately it is about friends supporting each other and learning to appreciate differences but I can’t say that I particularly warmed to Rudy and I’m not sure that this is a series I would hurry back to.
The Verdict:
The third in Paul Westmoreland’s RUDY SERIES for readers aged 5+ is an okay read that sees Rudy go for his first sleepover only to be perturbed by how strange it all is. I enjoyed the dynamism of George Ermos’s illustrations (especially the depiction of Femi’s family) but I wasn’t particularly sympathetic to Rudy’s behaviour, which was quite rude while his questioning of his friendship with Femi was a touch overblown.
RUDY AND THE SECRET SLEEPSKATER was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd March 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
