And Tango Makes Three

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And Tango Makes Three

First edition cover of And Tango Makes Three
Author Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Illustrator Henry Cole
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Children's literature
Publisher Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publication date April 26, 2005
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 32 pp
ISBN ISBN 0689878451

And Tango Makes Three is a 2005 children's book written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole. The book is based on the true story of Roy and Silo, two male Chinstrap Penguins in New York's Central Park Zoo who for a time formed a couple. The book follows part of this time in the penguins' lives. This book aimes to send the reader the message that it is okay to be in, or know, someone who has a "non-traditional" family.

The pair were observed trying to hatch a rock that resembled an egg. When zookeepers realized that Roy and Silo were both male, it occurred to them to give them the second egg of a mixed-sex penguin couple, a couple which had previously been unable to successfully hatch two eggs at once. Roy and Silo hatched and raised the healthy young chick, a female named "Tango" by keepers, together as a family.

Contents

[edit] Awards & nominations

And Tango Makes Three has received several national book awards. In 2006 it was named an American Library Association Notable Children's Book. It received the ASPCA's Henry Bergh Award and the Gustavus Myer Outstanding Book Award. It was named a Nick Jr. Family Magazine Best Book of the Year, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, a Cooperative Children's Book Council Choice, and a CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book. Tango was also a finalist for the 2006 Lambda Literary Award.

[edit] Controversy

Due to the penguin parents being of the same sex, some adults in the United States have objected to children reading the book.[1]

  • In Shiloh, Illinois, some parents of students at Shiloh Elementary School requested in November 2006 that the book be placed in a restricted section of the library and for the school to consider that students have parental permission prior to checking the book out. The school superintendent resolved instead to keep the book available to all students.[2]
  • In Missouri, parents had the book moved to the school library's non-fiction section.[1]
  • In Charlotte, North Carolina, the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Peter Gorman, ordered the book removed from school libraries on December 20, 2006. Gorman agreed to let a committee review the decision due to concerns that the policy on banning books was not followed.[3]
  • In 2008, Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick removed the book from general circulation at public elementary school libraries on the basis of a parent's complaint, overriding the decision of a Sterling, Virginia school principal and staff members who deemed the book suitable for young readers.[5][6] Hatrick subsequently returned the book into circulation as he found "significant procedural errors that he believes void the process followed in this matter"[7].

[edit] Editions

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Harris, Paul. "Flap over a tale of gay penguins", The Observer, 2006-11-19. Retrieved on 2006-12-21. 
  2. ^ Suhr, Jim. "Parents want gay penguins book blocked", The Boston Globe, Associated Press, 2006-11-16. Retrieved on 2006-12-21. 
  3. ^ "Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools", The Boston Globe, Mcclatchy Newspapers, 2006-12-20. Retrieved on 2006-12-21. 
  4. ^ "And Tango Makes Three tops ALA's 2006 list of most challenged books", American Library Association, 2007-03-06. Retrieved on 2007-04-23. 
  5. ^ Erica Garman. "Where's Tango?", Washington_Post_Company, 2008-02-11. Retrieved on 2008-02-12. 
  6. ^ Michael Alison Chandler. "Two Guys and a Chick Set Off Tiff Over School Library Policy", Washington_Post_Company, 2008-02-17. Retrieved on 2008-02-19. 
  7. ^ "And Tango Makes Three" Decision Voided (2008-03-03). Retrieved on 2008-03-09.

[edit] External links