This paperback edition of The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell tells the heartwarming true story of a teacher who rescues a penguin in South America. Perfect for cozy reading, this British book will uplift and charm any reader.
NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING STEVE COOGAN AND JONATHAN PRYCE
This is the true story of the unlikely friendship between a flightless bird and a teacher out of his depth...
Tom Michell is in his roaring twenties: single, free-spirited and seeking adventure. He has a plane ticket to South America, a teaching position in a prestigious Argentine boarding school, and endless summer holidays.
What he doesn't need is a pet. What he really doesn't need is a pet penguin.
But while on holiday in Uruguay he spots a penguin struggling in an oil slick and knows he has to help. And then the penguin refuses to leave his side . . .
Clearly Tom has no choice but to smuggle it across the border, through customs, and back to school. He names him Juan Salvador.
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 . . .
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. 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. Tom is an enthusiastic proponent of understanding how humans can live in genuinely sustainable ways. He is married with four grown-up children and three grandchildren.
