And Tango Makes Three

Parnell, Peter and Justin Richardson. And Tango Makes Three. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005.

And Tango Makes Three is a book based on a true story about two male penguins that fall in love in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Roy and Silo do everything together and act similarly to couples consisting of a male and a female. Before long, Roy and Silo realized that the other couples could do something they couldn’t – the female penguin would lay and egg then the male and female would take turns sitting on the egg to keep it warm until it hatched. Seeing their disappointment in their inability to start a family, the man who took care of the penguins gave them an egg that needed to be cared for. The egg hatched and the baby penguin was cared for and loved by her two dads.

And Tango Makes Three has been nominated and granted several awards on the national level. It was named a “Notable Children’s Book” in 2006 by the American Library Association; named “Book of the Year” by the Nick Jr. Family Magazine; and was also a finalist for the 2006 Lambda Literary Award – a reward reserved specifically for books categorized at GLBTQ. Unfortunately, a high amount of controversy has been coupled with the awards that the book has won. The American Library Association named And Tango Makes Three to be the most controversial book of 2006. Numerous libraries and parents have fought to remove the book from children’s sections of libraries and the book has also been threatened to be banned completely due to its perceived promotion of homosexuality.

Young children may have a difficult time reading the text of this book on their own so it might be beneficial to read the book aloud to young readers as they look at the accompanying illustrations. The illustrations include realistic drawings of penguins in their habitat at the zoo and follow the story very well. The illustrations are an asset to the book and make the story more enjoyable.

Throughout the book, authors Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson never use the terms “gay” or “homosexual” when describing the lifestyles of Roy and Silo. Instead, they emphasize the fact that the penguins are “just like the other penguins” – a phrase that is repeated numerous times throughout the book. The story makes the point clear that the two characters can lead a happy life with one another. The book does not discuss how homosexual relationships may be difficult for some to understand or appreciate. Towards the end of the book the authors state that, “… And all the children who came to the zoo could see Tango and her two fathers playing in the penguin house with the other penguins.” This statement seems to demonstrate the author’s point that even though Roy and Silo may have been different than the other penguins, there was no reason for them to be singled out or treated differently due to their orientation. The authors successfully convey this message without being “preachy,” which makes the story more likely to be read by a variety of people.