'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.'

Tom Michell is in his roaring 20's: 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. He even has a motorbike, Che Guevara style. What he doesn't need is a pet. What he really doesn't need is a pet penguin. <\p>

Set against Argentina's turbulent years following the collapse of the corrupt Perónist regime, this is the heart warming story of Juan Salvador the penguin, rescued by Tom from an oil slick in Uruguay just days before a new term. When the bird refuses to leave Tom's side, the young teacher has no choice but to smuggle it across the border, through customs, and back to school. 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 - in particular one homesick school boy. And as for Tom, he discovers in Juan Salvador a compadre like no other....

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.

Listening Length

6 hours and 2 minutes
Author

Tom Michell
Narrator

Bill Nighy
Audible release date

Nov. 5 2015
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Audio
ASIN

B0725K22S4
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	6 hours and 2 minutes
Author	Tom Michell
Narrator	Bill Nighy
Audible.ca Release Date	November 05 2015
Publisher	Penguin Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B0725K22S4
Best Sellers Rank	#68,696 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #160 in Educator Biographies (Books) #258 in Travel Writing & Commentary #828 in Biographies of Professionals & Academics

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

6,130 global ratings

5 star		66%
4 star		23%
3 star		8%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from Canada

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Joan B

a feel- good book. an easy read.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 8, 2022

Verified Purchase

book club selection. An enjoyable read that sparked memories of my visits to Argentina around the same time. Wanted my own penguin by the end.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 14, 2016

Verified Purchase

Fun read!

Helpful

toby

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 6, 2016

Verified Purchase

An excellent read....melds documentary comments with fiction extremely well.

Helpful

Kimbo

Good book

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

Arrived quickly. Good story.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

translumir

... 40% in I realised that I had been smiling pretty much from the opening penguin rescue in spite of ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

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.

34 people found this helpful

Sylvia

A very heartwarming story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 25, 2019

Verified Purchase

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.

9 people found this helpful

Manda, Colchester

Beautiful and inspiring, had me alternately laughing and crying

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 24, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is a jewel of a book, describing Tom Michell as a young man in South America, out for adventure, encounter a living but badly incapacitated penguin amidst hundreds of dead penguins washed up from an oil slick on the shore in Uruguay and decide to rescue it, thereby beginning an extraordinary relationship with this remarkable and intelligent creature, who transformed the lives of many with his unconditional love and zest for life. This set against the wonder, wonders and the beauty of an untamed and wild Argentina, its wildernesses by day and untrammelled starlight by night - a book which I will treasure and is seared on my heart and memory forever.

One person found this helpful

Richard Newbold

P-pick up a Penguin

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 16, 2022

Verified Purchase

A very slight but enjoyable book, reading rather like a self-published effort from someone in need of a good editor. Surprised it is a Penguin book.

The story is quite slight and for me the highly anthropomorhised bird is rather dull after the initial rescue, and rather confected tale of getting the animal through customs on the journey from Uruguay to Argentina. I presume the author was of an age (as I am) where the late Johnny Morris did his array of animal conversations whilst doing the rounds working at Bristol Zoo. Seems dated and somehow inapproriate, especially as the penguin's rescue and fate has obvious animal wellfare ramifications, not appreciated in an earlier era.

Would have been better for me if it had been a short magazine article rather than a novella.

Heather B

Delightful and Beautifully Written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

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.

4 people found this helpful

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