Publication
Michael Joseph, c2015
Status
Available
Description
"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 Michell's adventures really begin when, on a weekend in Uraguay, he rescues a penguin covered in oil from an ocean spill, cleans the bird up, and attempts to return him to the sea. But the penguin refuses to leave his rescuer's side. "That was the moment at which he became my penguin, and whatever the future held, we'd face it together," says Michell in this charming memoir. Michell names the penguin Juan Salvador ("John Saved"), 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 Englishman's unusual roommate. Juan Salvador is suddenly the center of attention--as mascot of the rugby team, confidant to the dorm housekeeper, co-host of Michell's parties, and an unprecedented swimming coach to a shy boy. Even through the collapse of the Peronist government and amid the country's economic and political strife, Juan Salvador brings joy to everyone around him--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"-- "Whether as rugby team mascot or assistant swimming coach, the penguin known as Juan Salvador touches and transforms everyone he encounters, including Tom Michell, the young teacher who finds him and rescues him from an oil spill disaster. After a time, Juan Salvador (meaning "the saved one") receives a new name: Juan Salvado, or "the savior." Set against the turbulent world of political unrest of 1970s Argentina, this multi-layered true story is a testament and tribute to animals and will no doubt resonate with the people who love them"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Beamis12
Proves the adage that large things can be found in small packages. Can refer to the less than 300 pages in this delightful book and the penguin, Juan Salvador who will touch and change the lives of many. He will soon make his way under your skin and into your heart, as he did mine. What an amazing
So we lean about penguins but also the horror of industrial accidents, we see some of the Argentine country through the eyes of the author, a little about the political situation and the changing and inflationary economy and what life is like in a boy's boarding school. A great deal of humor and some wonderful black, and white sketches of this adorable penguin in different situations.
A must read, a much needed interlude between some heavy reading. A different type of story about an experience not many have.
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experience for this author to have had in his youth.So we lean about penguins but also the horror of industrial accidents, we see some of the Argentine country through the eyes of the author, a little about the political situation and the changing and inflationary economy and what life is like in a boy's boarding school. A great deal of humor and some wonderful black, and white sketches of this adorable penguin in different situations.
A must read, a much needed interlude between some heavy reading. A different type of story about an experience not many have.
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LibraryThing member pennylane78
What an incredibly well-written tribute to a stunning penguin, traveling through South America, and teaching abroad. Michell showcases his love for education, his great wanderlust, and above all, his companionship with Juan Salvado, brilliantly. I fell in love with this book from the very beginning
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and would highly recommend it to anyone. Such a delicious tale! Show Less
LibraryThing member gogglemiss
After reading this wonderfully written book I was stuck with the image of Juan Salvado waddling, excitedly to meet his many friends that he had made, during his friendship with Tom
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
LibraryThing member Kaethe
"Poetry...takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity." In that sense, this is poetry. Mitchell recounts the adventure of youth: leaving home in England to travel to South America to teach English in a boarding school, and spend his time off exploring on a motorcycle. He meets a
Library copy I picked up just because it had a penguin on the cover.
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penguin. He develops a close and strong friendship with a penguin that is enchanting. There are magical moments, and a section that made me weep copious tears. I love interspecies friendships, and this is a great one.Library copy I picked up just because it had a penguin on the cover.
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LibraryThing member LARA335
Utterly charming memoir of a latter-day Mr Chips rescuing an oil-soaked penguin and taking him back to the boarding-school in Argentina where he taught.
The penguin repays Tom with trust and teaches the boarders kindness and responsibility, and like every loved pet replaces an empty space with love
Still wiping the tears away that while some greedy humans can wreak such devastation, there are others taking small but significant steps to try and do good and help others, enlarging their own hearts and understanding in the endeavour.
The penguin repays Tom with trust and teaches the boarders kindness and responsibility, and like every loved pet replaces an empty space with love
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and wonderment.Still wiping the tears away that while some greedy humans can wreak such devastation, there are others taking small but significant steps to try and do good and help others, enlarging their own hearts and understanding in the endeavour.
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LibraryThing member Opinionated
Man meets and rescues Penguin. Penguin refuses to leave his side. Man smuggles Penguin home (which in this case is a boarding school in Argentina, St George's College, very British - I know because we used to play rugby against them at around this time). Penguin is much loved and through his simple
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love of life, imparts wisdom ( a la Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which is in so many ways the inspiration for this book). What's not to like? Its warm, its fuzzy, its not very well written but who cares? Its a feel good book. And honestly who hasn't wanted an adoring pet penguin? Show Less
LibraryThing member techeditor
Everyone knows that a true story about an animal that is well written will make you cry or at least come darned close to it. And THE PENGUIN LESSONS is that good. That's fair warning.
Tom, an adventurous young man who grew up in the English countryside, has secured a job as a teacher in Argentina.
But, wait, did he see one of the penguins making small movements? He comes closer. Yes. He picks up the penguin, decides to clean it up, and there begins his story of Juan Salvador, his pet penguin.
This is a small book, and it is a quick read. What it lacks in characterization, it makes up for in penguinization.
Tom, an adventurous young man who grew up in the English countryside, has secured a job as a teacher in Argentina.
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He spends his breaks traveling as much of South America as he can afford. It is during one such break in Uruguay that he comes across hundreds of dead penguins on a beach. They had been victims of an oil spill.But, wait, did he see one of the penguins making small movements? He comes closer. Yes. He picks up the penguin, decides to clean it up, and there begins his story of Juan Salvador, his pet penguin.
This is a small book, and it is a quick read. What it lacks in characterization, it makes up for in penguinization.
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LibraryThing member terran
I really enjoyed this short, humorous and informative book. The author tells of his experiences in Argentina during his 20s when he went to teach at a boys' school near Buenos Aires. While vacationing before term started, he rescued a penguin from an oil spill. The book details his experiences
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smuggling the penguin onto the bus back to his school and the warm relationship that the two of them established from then on. There is good information about Argentine politics after Peron, flora and fauna of the region and...penguins. Show Less
LibraryThing member PDCRead
Tom Michell has reached his twenties and seeks adventure. Heading to the South American continent to work at a prestigious boarding school in Argentina and dreams of travel and exploration. The country that he arrives in is turbulent and in the grip of military control and rampant inflation after
Time to live the dream. Except that dream didn’t involve getting a pet penguin…
Whilst on a short break in Uruguay he comes across a beach with hundreds of dead penguins covered in oil from the wreck of a tanker. As he walks through the devastation, he sees one alive and picks it up and sneaks it back into the hotel. After a minor altercation involving a cut finger, he manages to clean the oil off the penguin and when he realises that it really doesn’t want to leave him, so begins a relationship with a bird, Juan Salvador. He just needs to work out how to get the creature across the border and back to school. S begins a story of a penguin that transformed Mitchell’s life and many of those in the school that he taught at.
It is a heart-warming story of a foolhardy decision that in the long run had so many positive benefits for all those that came into contact with Juan Salvador. There are some genuinely funny moments in the book and the tale he tells has a certain charm too. It is a serious commitment that he has made to care for an animal that needs company and attention and he tells it as it is. I really would have liked much more of the travelling that he undertook in the region, but that was not the focus of the book. Occasionally the writing is a bit twee and stilted, but it is a nice heart warming story.
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the collapse of the Perón regime. The allure of travelling during the long summer holidays prompts him to acquire a motorbike, hoping to see the landscape at his own pace.Time to live the dream. Except that dream didn’t involve getting a pet penguin…
Whilst on a short break in Uruguay he comes across a beach with hundreds of dead penguins covered in oil from the wreck of a tanker. As he walks through the devastation, he sees one alive and picks it up and sneaks it back into the hotel. After a minor altercation involving a cut finger, he manages to clean the oil off the penguin and when he realises that it really doesn’t want to leave him, so begins a relationship with a bird, Juan Salvador. He just needs to work out how to get the creature across the border and back to school. S begins a story of a penguin that transformed Mitchell’s life and many of those in the school that he taught at.
It is a heart-warming story of a foolhardy decision that in the long run had so many positive benefits for all those that came into contact with Juan Salvador. There are some genuinely funny moments in the book and the tale he tells has a certain charm too. It is a serious commitment that he has made to care for an animal that needs company and attention and he tells it as it is. I really would have liked much more of the travelling that he undertook in the region, but that was not the focus of the book. Occasionally the writing is a bit twee and stilted, but it is a nice heart warming story.
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LibraryThing member runner56
On holiday and on a beach in Uruguay Tom Mitchell rescues a lone penguin from many thousands who have died due to oil polution. From this tragedy, perpetrated by arguably the penguins greatest enemy...humans, comes a novel of friendship, love and sadness as we laugh and cry at the survival of Juan
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Salvador (the penguin!) and the wonderful and lasting affect he has on all those who come into contact with him. Highly recommended! Show Less
LibraryThing member Pepperwings
What a great story!
This is a memoir about an Englishman who travels to South America to be a teacher for a while, but he finds himself rescuing a penguin.
It's great to meet an animal who teaches you more about yourself, as well as the way of other "worlds." I don't want to give anything away, but
This is a memoir about an Englishman who travels to South America to be a teacher for a while, but he finds himself rescuing a penguin.
It's great to meet an animal who teaches you more about yourself, as well as the way of other "worlds." I don't want to give anything away, but
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if you enjoy animal stories, this is a warm, funny tale, and it's worth checking out. Show Less
LibraryThing member Lisa2013
January 2021 book club book for 15th anniversary meeting of my real world (via video since March 2020) book club. It’s a good book for book club.
It’s beautifully written, entertaining, charming, humorous at times, and a great armchair travel book.
It’s lighter than most of my book club books
I’ve always been fond of penguins, especially since I saw the movie March of the Penguins in a movie theater. Here it was fun to get to know a penguin who did experience human intervention and to see a real relationship develop.
I rooted for the penguin and for Diego and for the author, and for others too.
I enjoyed the mix of information about the areas/nature, the author, the people he encountered, and especially the penguin. I appreciated the scientific information that is included, especially that added toward the end of the book that helps explain exactly why the penguin behaved as it did.
The penguin illustrations by the author were pleasing and added to the narrative. I do wish that there had been photos and I wonder if the bit more than two minutes of video footage can be found anywhere is I’d love to view it.
It’s a delightful book I can heartily recommend to readers who might enjoy reading about penguin and humans relationship, has interest in South America its history and/or it’s present, interest in wildlife especially penguins, interest in an unconventional school story, culture exchange, really most readers. Even people who are not normally non-fiction readers might enjoy it as it’s great storytelling.
4-1/2 stars
It’s beautifully written, entertaining, charming, humorous at times, and a great armchair travel book.
It’s lighter than most of my book club books
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but it’s not fluff. It is an engaging story and a lovely meditation on friendships, relationships in general, mentoring, nature, how humans impact the ecosystem, and on adventure and seeking out & experiencing the new. I’ve always been fond of penguins, especially since I saw the movie March of the Penguins in a movie theater. Here it was fun to get to know a penguin who did experience human intervention and to see a real relationship develop.
I rooted for the penguin and for Diego and for the author, and for others too.
I enjoyed the mix of information about the areas/nature, the author, the people he encountered, and especially the penguin. I appreciated the scientific information that is included, especially that added toward the end of the book that helps explain exactly why the penguin behaved as it did.
The penguin illustrations by the author were pleasing and added to the narrative. I do wish that there had been photos and I wonder if the bit more than two minutes of video footage can be found anywhere is I’d love to view it.
It’s a delightful book I can heartily recommend to readers who might enjoy reading about penguin and humans relationship, has interest in South America its history and/or it’s present, interest in wildlife especially penguins, interest in an unconventional school story, culture exchange, really most readers. Even people who are not normally non-fiction readers might enjoy it as it’s great storytelling.
4-1/2 stars
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9781405921800
Original publication date
2015-10-27
2015