Kindle Edition Amazon Literarylou.com Category:  Children Publisher: iUniverse ISBN-10:  1491788127 Type: Fiction Pages: 252 Copyright: February 15th, 2016 ISBN-13: 9781491788127 Price: $3.99 (eBook) An inspirational book about courage and strength. A small amount of courage has a GIANT impact when a small, fluffy cat stands up to a villainous rat. When a small, fluffy cat teams up with an advice-giving canary, a mafia rat, an escaped cockatoo and a bunch of jazz-loving alley cats, to protect their home from a villainous hoodlum rat, a hero is born. When I find myself in a bad situation I just call upon my imagination to think outside the box and find a better way it's a simple mathematical equation S=IP squared the calculation! Go to www.Literarylou.com for more songs from the book! Excerpt Now you might think I’m just an alley cat, That I don’t know this from that. But I’ll tell you they got me all wrong. Listen to me. I’ll sing you my song. I never knew my momma, My father, or my kin. Born into a world that I didn’t fit in. I learned the alley cat, He knows where it’s at. I said the alley cat, He knows where it’s at. So I took to the streets And struck out on my own, Knowing that I’d spend my whole life alone. I was down and out, not a bite to eat, Head down low, watching my own feet, When I heard this tune put me in a trance, My feet went crazy, and I started to dance. I went to the left.” Then Scratch joined in: “He went to the left.” “And I moved to the right,” Dazzle continued. “He moved to the right.” “A little bit a grooving, then I realized… that the best time of day.” “Best time of day.” “Is the middle of the night.” “The middle of the night.” “The best kind of sun.” “The best kind of sun.” “Is the bright starlight.” “So I sleep all day. They call me lazy and ignore me, but I don’t let it get me down. The ladies they adore me because I got these moves.” He tapped across in front of Mouse. “And I got these grooves.” He danced up to Scratch and Sikes and held his paws out. “And with friends like these, I just can’t lose. Yes, the alley cat.” “The alley cat,” Sikes joined in. “Knows where it’s at,” Dazzle sang again. “Knows where it’s at. Let’s groove.” They repeated this several times until the tune faded.

Kirkus Review
A young Protector cat faces a tough challenge when an evil rat threatens her building in this novel for middle-grade readers.
Chief is one tough cat. As a Protector, he descends from the cats of ancient Egypt, with special skills to ward off evil,safeguard humans, and kill vermin. He’s a trusted partner to Sam, 37, a maintenance man in a Bronx motel. The team impresses the building’s owner, who gives them a big promotion to an uptown high-rise complex where Chief makes lots of new friends, including other buildings’ cats and some alley cats. None are Protectors, but they do look after their territories, and the local rats know their place—the sewers. When Chief meets the lovely Persian Ms. Charlene, they soon have a litter of kittens. Most find homes, but they get to keep the black-and-white runt, called Mouse. Despite her
small size and fluffiness, Mouse shows her father’s aptitude for safeguarding the neighborhood, and Pops trains her as a Junior Protector. But Bragar, a rat made evil and crazy by cruel scientists, escapes and decides to take over the apartment complex. When Chief is taken out, Mouse must fulfill her calling as a Protector and battle Bragar and his minions—but
she’ll need to forge an unlikely alliance that includes pigeons, a canary, a fancy mouse, and rats who know the value of respect. (Sensitive readers, no cats are permanently harmed, and the book doesn’t dwell on their injuries.) DeGrado (The
13th Month, 2015, etc.) gives his good-versus-evil story some thought-provoking undertones, such as concern for the environment (“green” cats versus harmful poisons); Bragar’s radicalization isn’t unlike that of a marginalized jihadi. The
animal world of this novel feels as well-rounded, varied, and rich as any human community. But despite its seriousness, the novel is also charming, fun, and entertaining. Its many wonderful songs (alley cats sing the blues, for example)
absolutely beg for transformation into an animated movie. The satisfying ending will have readers cheering out
loud—and waiting hopefully for the next book in this series.
An exciting story for animal lovers about courage, resilience, and working together.


Clarion Review
The Calling of the Protectors: The Legend of Chief
Louis Paul DeGrado
iUniverse (Feb 11, 2016)
Softcover $16.95 (252pp)
978-1-4917-8811-0
With its sweet kitten heroine and environmental themes, this novel will resonate with readers of all ages.
The age-old strategy of keeping cats as pest control gets a fresh twist for young readers in Louis Paul
DeGrado’s The Calling of the Protectors. A conflict between companion animals and creatures that humans have mistreated and neglected adds age-appropriate philosophical depth to this engaging novel.
Chief the cat and the “Protectors” he is descended from are physically and supernaturally equipped to
eradicate danger from the human homes they inhabit. These astounding powers are tested when an amoral lab rat
with a grudge against humanity sets his sights on invading the apartment complex Chief is charged with protecting.
While The Legend of Chief is an accurate subtitle, the true star of this story is Chief’s daughter, a tiny, fluffy kitten named Mouse, who by all appearances is an unlikely candidate for the call of the Protectors. Mouse struggles to be more like her father and to find friends of her own, issues that mirror the concerns of upper-elementary-aged kids.
Like today’s students, she uses twenty-first-century skills like collaboration and innovation, drawing upon the strengths of the quirky assortment of animal characters that populate the apartment complex in an effort to protect their home.
Her relatability is further enhanced by the author’s attention to sensory detail, particularly scent and sound, which adds a richness to the experience of Mouse’s point of view and those of the other animal characters.
Despite some intense scenes, as in the sewers where rats congregate and the lab where Bragar, the antagonist, is tortured and discarded, the overall tone of this fantasy offering is light and positive. The plot progresses
clearly and the writing is simple yet engaging, with just enough physical description and sensory detail to bring the apartment complex setting to life without boring or overwhelming a young reader. Cleverly titled chapters add interest and break up the action into easily digestible episodes. Throughout the novel, many of the characters burst into song as a means of sharing their story or offering a philosophical insight. These rhyming interludes have great cadence and add a spirit of fun which lightens up potentially grim moments in the story.
Most upper-elementary-aged children will find The Calling of the Protectors an appealing and easy read, and
the structure and writing style make it a good candidate for a family or classroom read-aloud. Themes of
environmentalism, animal treatment, progress, and the value of teamwork will resonate with readers of all ages,
making this a thoughtful choice for intergenerational sharing.
CAROLYN BAILEY