I can't remember the last time I read a book that made me smile so continuously' 5***** Reader Review When I saw the cover of “The Penguin Lessons,” I simply couldn’t resist reading it, and I’m glad I didn’t or I would have missed out on a great story. Whether it's as the rugby team's mascot, the housekeeper's confidant, the host at Tom's parties or the most flamboyant swimming coach in world history, Juan Salvador transforms the lives of all he meets - including Tom, who discovers a compadre like no other . . .

In parts personal memoir, travelogue, political and social history, the book moves with ease from pointed discussion of humanity's attitude towards wildlife, to the antics of schoolboys who suddenly find they are sharing their school with a penguin. In doing so, Michell puts forward a picture of the best and worst people can do. Os recomiendo mucho esta historia a todos los que os gusten los animales. Y para los que temáis por pasarlo mal... Os prometo que no es una historia muy triste, puede que se os escape una lagrimita en algún momento, pero sin llegar a sufrir mucho. Os lo prometo. The author, Tom Michell, was an assistant master at the above named, rather exclusive boarding school in 1975 - 1976. It’s located in Quilmes, outside Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 23. He never planned on caring for a penguin. He planned on teaching and seeing South America - its people, its wildlife, its landmarks, its night sky constellations, its flora, its fauna. In fact, he does both! And in this book he articulately depicts his emotional and intellectual experiences. He must have been a marvelous teacher. He cared for those kids and he cared for Juan Salvador. He briefly fills in the history of the time. Rampant inflation and the beginning of the Dirty War. In March 1976 Isabel Péron was ousted by a right-wing coup d'état. A military junta was installed headed by General Jorge Rafael Videla. I have also been out to the Magellenic penguin colony at Punta Tombo that Michell describes so vividly. Nearly three decades later, there were (ineffective) barriers in place to keep tourists and penguins separate. Despite them, there were people manhandling some of the birds and treating them more like amusements than like wild animals. I was travelling with a small group, but entire cruise ships were disgorging vast crowds of people into the natural area. I was far happier on the following day when our local guide took us to a smaller, more remote rookery where we were the only people present.

He is an amateur artist and in his spare time he draws and paints subjects from the wildlife around his home, specializing in birds of prey. Hellbent On Changing Her Station From Actress To Writer-Director, Jennifer Esposito Signs With Echo Lake For Filmmaking After ‘Fresh Kills’ Debut Marley & Me with a penguin. Well, sort of. I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit peeved at how this has been roped in for Christmas advertising on Goodreads. It would indeed make a good holiday gift for an animal-lover, but this emphasizes the twee aspects of what is otherwise a sweet if slight story about the author keeping a Magellanic penguin as a pet while he was teaching in an Argentina boarding school in the 1970s. Tom Michell was born and grew up on the rural downs of southern England, where he grew to love animals, birds and plants. After living in Argentina he returned home and settled in Cornwall where he helps with the family business, tends a small plot of what he calls 'good Cornish soil' and sings with a local choir.

A much-beloved tale about a much-beloved bird ... heartwarmingly eccentric.... It's bound to be a hit Guardian A heart-warming tale really and well told, though the author was guilty of rambling odd times, subjects about which I wasn't too interested. Just wanted to know what happened to our little friend. As the tale drew to a close, I admit I fell for our little hero. Not the conventional protagonist and a little short for my usual taste, but reports of his beautiful eyes, his social skills, his intent talent for listening without becoming bored and without interrupting, and all this from a guy (!) . . . naturally, I was intrigued. This happened in the 1970s, but the notes at the end of the book even talked about a little footage of JS, discovered among English guy's private stuff years later. I was curious enough to see if it had been posted on YouTube. It had. 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. 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 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 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. The Penguin Lessons is a unique and moving true story which has captured imaginations around the globe - for all those who dreamed as a child they might one day talk to the animals. Read more Details

Het gaat dus over de pinguïn, maar ik had soms een tikkeltje het idee dat het best lastig was het boek te vullen met alleen pinguïn ':D. Er gebeurt namelijk ook weer niet superveel met het dier. Vooral zijn aankomst en de beginfase is spectaculair, maar daarna gaat 't een beetje z'n gangetje. Bij sommige semi-filosofische overpeinzingen (ook veel herhaling), vroeg ik me af: doe je dit nu echt omdat je dit als auteur wilt vertellen of zit je pagina's te vullen? Hij maakt naast de pinguïn meer dingen mee in Argentinië en af en toe dacht ik: 'was dit boek misschien nog interessanter geweest als de reis meer centraal had gestaan en de pinguïn een supertof bijfiguur was?'. Maar goed, pinguïns op de cover verkopen denk ik wel beter. I was hoping against hope that the penguin would survive because as of that instant he had a name, and with his name came the beginning of a bond which would last a life-time." I couldn't help thinking that the authors had to be a bit insane to leave the safety of home in England to travel to Argentina at such a dangerous time, but he was an ardent adventurer. During school vacations he explored South America. Whilst in Uruguay he can across a group of penguin washed up on the beach in an oil spill, found a single survivor and rescued him. The author is passionate in his love of nature and his disgust at the impact humanity is having on this planet:

This is such a gem of a book!! When i read the blurb and saw the cover I knew it was for me and it has been an absolutely delightful read! 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 author is a really good writer and his descriptions on being out on a farm the size of a country, with the gauchos, the cowboys, living their life, is revelatory. Who would think that in the 1970s in a first world country that people would wander looking for pasture daily, carrying everything on their saddle and sleeping around a campfire under the stars at night?Biću iskrena - malo mi je falilo da od knjige odustanem na nekih 60%. Završila sam je čisto da vidim kako će priča S PINGVINOM ići dalje, a poglavlja i priču o njegovim putovanjima i nekim sporednim stvarima sam preskakala, no shame in that. It’s beautifully written, entertaining, charming, humorous at times, and a great armchair travel book.