The Penguin Lessons: What I Learned from a Remarkable Bird

The Penguin Lessons: What I Learned from a Remarkable Bird

A unique and moving real-life story of the extraordinary bond between a young teacher and a penguin, this book will delight readers who loved Marley & Me, Dewey the Library Cat, The Good Good Pig, and any book by Jon Katz.

In 1975, twenty-three-year-old Englishman Tom Michell follows his wanderlust to Argentina, where he becomes assistant master at a prestigious boarding school. But Michellâ€™s adventures really begin when, on a weekend in Uruguay, he rescues a penguin covered in oil from an ocean spill, cleans the bird up, and attempts to return him to the sea. The penguin refuses to leave his rescuerâ€™s side. â€œThat was the moment at which he became my penguin, and whatever the future held, weâ€™d face it together,â€ says Michell in this charming memoir.

Michell names the penguin Juan Salvador (â€œJohn Savedâ€), but Juan Salvador, as it turns out, is the one who saves Michell.

After Michell smuggles the bird back to Argentina and into his campus apartment, word spreads about the young Englishmanâ€™s unusual roommate. Juan Salvador is suddenly the center of attentionâ€”as mascot of the rugby team, confidant to the dorm housekeeper, co-host of Michellâ€™s parties, and an unprecedented swimming coach to a shy boy. Even through the collapse of the PerÃ³nist government and amid the countryâ€™s economic and political strife, Juan Salvador brings joy to everyone around himâ€”especially Michell, who considers the affectionate animal a compadre and kindred spirit.

Witty and heartwarming, The Penguin Lessons is a classic in the making, a story that is both absurd and wonderful, exactly like Juan Salvador.

Praise for The Penguin Lessons

â€œI loved this book, and you will, too! Itâ€™s as charming, heartwarming, and surprising as a penguin on a roof terrace. Whatâ€™s more, The Penguin Lessons teaches an important truth: that a single act of compassion can be repaid a thousand-fold.â€â€”Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig and the National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus

â€œ[Tom Michellâ€™s] tone suits the material perfectly. . . . You believe every word. . . . No fool, this penguin. No fools, these publishers, who have unleashed such a delightful and charming book just in time for Christmas.â€â€”Daily Mail (U.K.)

â€œHeart-warming is a wholly inadequate phrase to describe this captivating story that is pure delight from beginning to end.â€â€”The Bookseller (U.K.)
Country USA
Manufacturer Ballantine Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2015-10-27
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Ballantine Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2015-10-27
Format	Kindle eBook

The Penguin Lessons: What I Learned from a Remarkable Bird

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