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Three Swords for Granada
In the year 1420, the cats from the kingdom of Spain attacked their foes: dogs led by the cruel Fidorean Guards. Full of bravery and ready to give their lives for their country, the cats begin a swashbuckling journey of swordplay and derring-do. Can they save their kingdom? Or will they perish in the fight?
- GenresFictionChapter Books
106 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2002
31 people want to read
About the author
Walter Dean Myers
224 books1,186 followerspseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 7, 2020
One reason I love Walter Dean Myers is the varied stories he tells. Sure, many of his novels are set in inner-city Harlem, New York, but not infrequently he wrote books like Three Swords for Granada, which happens to be about a trio of anthropomorphized cats defending their homeland in fifteenth century Europe. It is the year 1420, and felines across Spain have seen better days. Canine soldiers known as the Fidorean Guards have moved into the city of Málaga and aren't shy about ordering the cat citizens around. Three young cats named Askia, Paco, and Lacy are eager to declare war on the Guards and decide the issue at swordpoint, but older, wiser heads know the time for confrontation has not yet come. Pietro Felini, the elder cat of Málaga, is aware of the Fidorean Guards' ultimate goal: to annex all cat territory up to and including Granada, the heart of feline culture. This must be prevented at all costs, and that means biding their time until the Guards are vulnerable to defeat. Do Askia, Paco, and Lacy have the discipline to wait?
"My friends, in these desperate times we must use every weapon we have...You must understand that patience can be a weapon."
—Pietro, Three Swords for Granada, P. 10
After Pietro is severely wounded in an ambush by the Fidorean Guards, and Lacy is captured and detained in their Alcázar to fight ravenous hyenas for the Guards' amusement, Askia and Paco set out to make things right. Dubious alliances may be necessary to form a resistance front against the Fidorean Guards, and the young cats are willing to strike a deal even with Romulus the rat, a gangster from Far Almadén. Askia and Paco must break Lacy out of the Alcázar and then regroup with the feline braintrust at Málaga to decide if now is the time mount an all-out armed defense of Granada. If the Fidorean Guards take the city, cat culture will enter a new dark age. Askia, Paco, and Lacy—especially Askia—have struggled to control their emotional fervor and make wise choices in engaging the enemy, but victory in the coming battle will hinge on their ability to do both. Spain's future is at stake.
Three Swords for Granada isn't a bad book, even though I'm rating it one and a half stars and couldn't bring myself to round up to two. The concept had promise, but the plot is hard to follow and the characters don't feel sufficiently distinct from one another. I like that Walter Dean Myers set this playful story about cats in a real historical time and place, and that he paid careful attention to Spanish geography in doing so, but we aren't given any deep sense of why the story matters. Granada is obviously important to the cats, but why? What brought the Fidorean Guards to Málaga in the first place, and what led to conflict with the cats? A more immersive, comprehensive historical context would allow Three Swords for Granada to be a better book. Nonetheless, it's reasonably entertaining, and I enjoyed seeing a different side of Walter Dean Myers. At his best, he's one of my favorites.
"My friends, in these desperate times we must use every weapon we have...You must understand that patience can be a weapon."
—Pietro, Three Swords for Granada, P. 10
After Pietro is severely wounded in an ambush by the Fidorean Guards, and Lacy is captured and detained in their Alcázar to fight ravenous hyenas for the Guards' amusement, Askia and Paco set out to make things right. Dubious alliances may be necessary to form a resistance front against the Fidorean Guards, and the young cats are willing to strike a deal even with Romulus the rat, a gangster from Far Almadén. Askia and Paco must break Lacy out of the Alcázar and then regroup with the feline braintrust at Málaga to decide if now is the time mount an all-out armed defense of Granada. If the Fidorean Guards take the city, cat culture will enter a new dark age. Askia, Paco, and Lacy—especially Askia—have struggled to control their emotional fervor and make wise choices in engaging the enemy, but victory in the coming battle will hinge on their ability to do both. Spain's future is at stake.
Three Swords for Granada isn't a bad book, even though I'm rating it one and a half stars and couldn't bring myself to round up to two. The concept had promise, but the plot is hard to follow and the characters don't feel sufficiently distinct from one another. I like that Walter Dean Myers set this playful story about cats in a real historical time and place, and that he paid careful attention to Spanish geography in doing so, but we aren't given any deep sense of why the story matters. Granada is obviously important to the cats, but why? What brought the Fidorean Guards to Málaga in the first place, and what led to conflict with the cats? A more immersive, comprehensive historical context would allow Three Swords for Granada to be a better book. Nonetheless, it's reasonably entertaining, and I enjoyed seeing a different side of Walter Dean Myers. At his best, he's one of my favorites.
January 8, 2015
I bought this book from our local library because 1) I wanted to support the library, 2) this book looked interesting, and 3) I want to start reading more chapter books to my Kindergarten son.
I can't say that I loved this book, but I did mostly like it. Obviously, an allegory, but I'm not sure how much kids will pick up on that. Still, it might be a good way to introduce my son to historical events.
October 20, 2015
We started reading this to complement our Middle Ages history lesson about the Moors in Spain (as recommended by the History Odyssey curriculum). About halfway we all decided to give it up. None of us were enjoying it. Maybe it would be a good read aloud for a pre-reader? I don't know. It just wasn't doing anything for me or my two kids, who are 8 and 12.
February 23, 2016
It's 1420 and dogs are trying to completely take over their Kingdom. Ready to give up their lives, the cats must fight to take back their country.
I liked the book and it is an interesting historical fiction book in that the characters are animals. It's about the Moors in Spain. I think this was a neat way to write a historical fiction book. I enjoyed it.
I liked the book and it is an interesting historical fiction book in that the characters are animals. It's about the Moors in Spain. I think this was a neat way to write a historical fiction book. I enjoyed it.
October 27, 2007
Strange mixture of animal fantasy (characters were cats and dogs) and historical novel (the ousting of the Moors from Spain in the 15th century).
October 15, 2024
Sort of a Three Musketeers meets El Cid but with cats & dogs - a fun concept poorly executed. Nice illustrations & had a map which is always good even if not terribly necessary for this particular story.
September 2, 2020
This was an interestingly different book from Walter Dean Myers....a light, quick read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews