Everyone knows that a well written book about an animal 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. 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.