Louis Paul Degrado

The Calling of the Protectors: The Legend of Chief Louis Paul Degrado

Chief is a Protector, a cat who has a calling to protect humans from vermin and evil. Nicknamed the Bronx Bruiser, he moves with his owner, Sam, to a high-rise complex that has gone green and uses cats rather than poison to drive out the rodents.

Chief's daughter, Mouse, was born a runt. She struggles to live up to her father's significant reputation and soon realizes that she must solve her problems not through brute strength but through alliances with others. She works with Ladie, an advice-giving canary; Carl, an escaped cockatoo who hangs out with pigeons; and Little Foot, a small, fancy mouse with very good ears. When a group of hoodlum rats, led by a deviant lab rat named Bragar, break the truce between the cats and the rats, a battle for the apartment complex ensues. Faced with losing her home and all her father has fought for, Mouse and her allies must stand up to Bragar. Can a small amount of courage have giant impact?

In this novel for middle readers, a small, fluffy cat teams up with a canary, a cockatoo, and a fancy mouse in order to protect their home from a villainous hoodlum rat.