Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Book Review -- "The Penguin Lessons"

     The book that I am reviewing today is one of the best books that I've read in a long time.  "The Penguin Lessons" by Tom Michell is an animal, adventure and travel story all rolled into one.
     Tom Michell was a young man from England who wanted to experience the world.  With that thought in mind, he took a teaching job at a prestigious boarding school in Argentina in the mid 1970s.  One day while Tom was visiting Uruguay, he found a colony of dead penguins on the beach where he was walking.  The penguins had been caught in an oil spill and washed up on the shore.  But something caught Tom's eye.  One penguin was still alive.  At that moment, Tom made a decision that changed his life.
     Tom rescued the penguin and cleaned all of the oil off of him.  He then transported the penguin back to the bordering school where Tom made a home for the penguin he named Juan Salvador.
     In this book, Tom tells many interesting stories of the joy that Juan the penguin brought to his life and to the staff and students at the boarding school.
     Besides the interesting account about Juan Salvador, Tom tells about a motorcycle trip he took to find a penguin colony for Juan Salvador.  There are also some great insights into how people lived in Argentina and South America in the 70s.
     I highly recommend this book.  It demonstrates how one act of kindness can make a world of difference.

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