John Philip Duck

When Edward Pembroke - a young African-American boy working with his father at the famous Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, during the Great Depression - finds an abandoned duckling during one of his weekends home on the family farm, he pleads to be allowed to keep his new anatine friend as a pet. Reluctantly, his father agrees, and soon the entire staff at the Peabody is conspiring to keep the existence of John Philip Duck - named after Edward's hero, composer and conductor John Philip Sousa - a secret from hotel manager, Mr. Schutt. When the inevitable discovery comes, Edward makes a cases for allowing the duck to stay: as part of a trained act that will amuse hotel patrons.

A completely fictional story, based on a real-life show more circumstance - the Peabody Hotely in Memphis is indeed famous for its fountain ducks, which were originally trained by an Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer - John Philip Duck is an engaging book, with Polacco's trademark vivid illustrations. But although it is pleasant and entertaining, I didn't find it anywhere near the equal of some of this author/artist's other books, and would primarily recommended it to Polacco fans, or to children who are visiting the Peabody. show less

During the time when the story of John Philip Duck took place, there was a depression and times were hard. One day Edward found a duck in the bushes when he was doing his chores. He begged his parents to let him keep the duck. His parents allowed him to keep the duck, but Edward had to take it to work with him everyday. Edward taught the duck tricks. When the manager found out that Edward was bringing the duck to work and letting him swim in the fountain, he made Edward train the other ducks as well. That was the only way Edward could continue to bring the duck to the hotel. Well, Edward did it. He trained all of the ducks at the hotel to do tricks and put on a show for the customers. Edward became the official Duck-master of the show more Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. This story really stood out to me because I visited the Peabody Hotel when I was a child. This would be a great story for children to read if they have visited the hotel before, so that they could learn the background story. I also think the message conveyed into this story is simply a boy turning his dream into a reality. show less

I really liked the book Polacco wrote. It did an amazing job with the character development with Edward. While I read the book I became more invested in the friendship between Edward and the duck, John. The friendship the two of them have is one students can learn from. The character traits Edward has, loyalty and determination, help him stand his ground in saving John. This books development with characterization is a great way for students to learn how to be a good friend and traits they want in their relationships. When John almost gets taken away, Edward says "let me show you the trick Edward can do!" Even when times get rough, Edward steps up to protect his friend. Students can learn from this and model behavior off of Edward.

The usual entrancing drawings by Patricia Polacco, and a charming real-life story of a Memphis hotel with resident ducks, is marred by fictionalization of the origins of the ducks and portraits of bellhops plus dialogue that come too close to the racial portrayals of the early 20th century to be comfortable for a modern reader.

This book is set during the depression in Memphis, Tennessee at the Peabody Hotel. Edward, a young boy who enjoys John Philip Sousa’s music, dreams of having a “snappy uniform with shiny brass buttons” to march with. He works at the Peabody Hotel with his pa’ and one day befriends a duck. Edward ends up training the duck to march and impresses the hotel manager. He later ends up becoming the “duck master of the Peabody Hotel.” What we can learn from Edward is to never give up on your dream because it can come true, even in the strangest ways. He dreamed of having a snappy uniform with shiny brass buttons and he got it by become a duck master, of all things. The setting wasn’t essential to the story. I think it just played show more as a backdrop to a true story. show less

This story has elements of friendship, persistence, and loyalty that students can relate to. Edward quickly befriends the ducks, and his father and the other hotel staff are friends and loyal to one another, so they work together to help Edward and protect John. When the duck faces danger, in the form of the hotel manager, Edward steps up to defend his friend, with his father and hotel staff at his side. Edward agrees to train the other ducks and works hard to protect John and the other ducks. His persistence and loyalty pays off when he retires and John stay with him through retirement. He is surprised to find that the other ducks and their offspring also visit his farm during their annual migration time.

In Memphis, Tennessee Edward worked at a hotel with his father. One day he found a baby duck and nursed it back to health. He begged his parents to let him keep it and they were hesitant because he couldn't leave it at home while he worked. Eventually they decided he could take it to the hotel with him but he had to keep it a secret from their hotel manager. Everyone who worked at the hotel loved the duck and they kept him a secret for a long time until one day the hotel manager had his duck hunting friends come. The hotel manager agreed to let Edward keep the duck there when he saw the tricks it could do but only if he could teach the other ducks to do them too. After one month he taught all the ducks to do the tricks and the hotel was show more impressed and lived up to his word. I really like this book because its super cool that he taught the ducks all those tricks. It also shows that with hard work and determination anything can be done. show less