John Philip Duck

Rating:
Summary: A child-like story about a real-life phenomenon
Review: To get their family through the financial constraints of The Great Depression, Edward Pembroke and his father both hold jobs at the Peabody Hotel in town. Young Edward has two passions: keeping time with John Philip Sousa marches, and watching the wild ducks fly over his native Tennessee hills. When one duckling appears to be lost, Edward adopts him as his own and takes care of him ... even insisting upon taking the little guy to work. The hotel staff help Edward hide his pet from Mr. Schutt, the hotel manager. When the secret leaks out and Mr. Schutt demands an explanation, Edward demonstrates how he has trained the duck to march and maneuver to Sousa marches. Mr. Schutt is impressed but gives Edward a test project: just one month to train a whole flock of ducks to march to the hotel lobby fountain and to swim there all day. Of such stuff are legends born! Edward succeeds and becomes the Duckmaster of the Peabody Hotel, and the flock is led by his first adoptee, now dubbed John Philip Duck.

Patricia Polacco's illustrations are deceptively simple yet vibrantly rich. They look as if one of us has colored in someone else's freehand line drawings -- until you see the outlines of the glasses on the tablecloth and the shadows of the china on the wall. The hills around the Pembroke house look as wild as the high-class Peabody Hotel is distinguished. The pictures match the storyline.

This colorful and entertaining book should amuse both children and adults. And if you've never witnessed the twice-daily Peabody mallard march, you may have to schedule a trip to Memphis after reading this fictionalized explanation. Seeing is believing!

Rating:
Summary: A child-like story about a real-life phenomenon
Review: To get their family through the financial constraints of The Great Depression, Edward Pembroke and his father both hold jobs at the Peabody Hotel in town. Young Edward has two passions: keeping time with John Philip Sousa marches, and watching the wild ducks fly over his native Tennessee hills. When one duckling appears to be lost, Edward adopts him as his own and takes care of him ... even insisting upon taking the little guy to work. The hotel staff help Edward hide his pet from Mr. Schutt, the hotel manager. When the secret leaks out and Mr. Schutt demands an explanation, Edward demonstrates how he has trained the duck to march and maneuver to Sousa marches. Mr. Schutt is impressed but gives Edward a test project: just one month to train a whole flock of ducks to march to the hotel lobby fountain and to swim there all day. Of such stuff are legends born! Edward succeeds and becomes the Duckmaster of the Peabody Hotel, and the flock is led by his first adoptee, now dubbed John Philip Duck.

Patricia Polacco's illustrations are deceptively simple yet vibrantly rich. They look as if one of us has colored in someone else's freehand line drawings -- until you see the outlines of the glasses on the tablecloth and the shadows of the china on the wall. The hills around the Pembroke house look as wild as the high-class Peabody Hotel is distinguished. The pictures match the storyline.

This colorful and entertaining book should amuse both children and adults. And if you've never witnessed the twice-daily Peabody mallard march, you may have to schedule a trip to Memphis after reading this fictionalized explanation. Seeing is believing!