The Penguin Lessons Hardcover – 5 Nov. 2015

I've just purchased this book and at 40% in I realised that I had been smiling pretty much from the opening penguin rescue in spite of the ugly truth about how oil spills are annihilating them. I am continuing to smile as I recall 'Jonathan Livingstone Seagull' and how much that little book moved me. I cannot remember the last time I read a book that made me smile so continuously. It is a breath of fresh sea air after reading more serious novels for a time, a magical and uplifting tale of inter species devotion and friendship. I imagine that for anyone who has experienced that connection with a beloved pet will melt into this tale and smile, smile, smile alongside His Excellency Don Juan Salvador de Pingiono! It inspired me to sort out my knitting pattern for penguin jumpers (you won't laugh after you've read this!) and my wool and start knitting some warm jumpers to send off for any further victims of spills. Wonderful little book to read as an antidote for a cynical world.

True stories concerning people and animals the become books, are more often about cats or dogs. This story bucks the trend and is about a Penguin and the attachment he has for his human saviour and friend, in the form of Tom Michell.This book is delightful and something that bit different. It really is heartwarming and touching. It is amazing the power of animals, especially in this day and age where kindness and understanding is often in short supply. Dumb animals are not so dumb, you just have to take the time to 'listen' to them and take them to your heart.A brilliant book!

3.5This book was really sweet in places, but I did occasionally feel my attention drifting. Tom had much the same views and concerns about modern civilisation as me and Juan Salvador was adorable and I applaud anyone who helps an animal in need. I also agree that the penguin had a better life at the school than he probably would have had in a zoo, however, I couldn't help but feel as if more could have been done to put him back in the wild. I'm no expert and I've obviously never been in that position, but it just seemed he jumped to conclusions rather quickly without proper info - and before someone points it out, they didn't have Google then, I know, but there were other ways of researching things!All in all like I said, this was a sweet book and I love true stories, but there were parts of it that were very slow going...

This is the story of a young Englishman who travels to Argentina to take up a teaching post in an elite English school in the southern suburbs of Buenos Aires. On a week-end break in Uruguay he is adopted by a lone penguin which, being an English animal lover, sets him up for a hilarious tale of getting the penguin through the immigration authorities when he takes it back to Buenos Aires with him. Thereafter the penguin plays a pivotal role in this young teacher's connection with his students, he takes an active part in school life as a mascot for their rugby team and there are many amusing but at the same time heartwarming narratives of life for a penguin in a boys' boarding school. An absolutely wonderful story, beautifully written, with an enchanting twist at the end. I recommend it to people of all ages and walks of life.

It’s very rare that I actually part with money for a book by an author I haven’t read before. I’m so glad that when this came up on Kindle Daily Deal recently I did though as it was an absolute delight to read.The Penguin Lessons is definitely one of those cases where the truth is stranger than fiction as Tom Michell invites readers to go on a journey with him to the South America of his youth, back in the 1970s. The story of himself and Juan Salvador is absolutely beautifully and charmingly written with the characters of both man and penguin, as well as the other people who populate the narrative, just jumping off the page. I loved the way that Mr Michell interpreted looks from Juan Salvador and wrote conversational exchanges between the penguin and his human friends. I came away from the book feeling like I’d actually known – and loved – this penguin myself.As well as telling the story of Juan Salvador, the author also paints beautiful pictures of the scenery, wildlife, and daily life in Argentina and other areas of South America at that time. It presents a unique snapshot of a unique time and place. And using his artistic skills, he also leaves readers with an illustration of his penguin friend at the end of every chapter, complete with a caption relevant to the incidents recounted.I can highly recommend this tender, charming, and heartfelt little book. I came away with my heart feeling warmed. Juan Salvador is still touching people’s lives all these years later.

I really loved this book. It'd nearly make me want to adopt a penguin!I was so glad to find that the film footage mentioned at the end of the book is on You tube - not great quality - but lovely to see Juan Salcado(r) swimming about.My book group loved it too.

I heard Tom’s interview on the BBC World Service some months back and bought his book with no hesitation. A remarkable tale and so well written. Very interesting and so informative, the text is rich in South American geographic, wildlife and some historical prose. I have also worked in that part of the world and had wild penguins at the end of my camera lens and therefore I can share Tom’s fascination for this special seabird. The book gets a rare 5 star award from my discerning eye and is highly recommended.

This is a sweet story of a young man who rescues a penguin from a large group of its fellows, all dead from oil pollution. It’s funny, thoughtful, a bit slapstick in places, and charts the way this wild creature affected the lives of all those who came into contact with him. Tom Mitchell was a junior master in an Argentinian boarding school in the 1970s and his adventures with the penguin certainly taught him, and those he met, a great deal about wildlife and its interdependence with humans.It’s an uplifting story, if slightly anthropomorphic, and a little rambling in places. A definite good read.