And Tango Makes Three

infobox Book |
name = And Tango Makes Three
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover of "And Tango Makes Three"
author = Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
illustrator = Henry Cole
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Children's literature
publisher = Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
release_date = April 26, 2005
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 32 pp
isbn = ISBN 0689878451
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"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 six years formed a couple. The book follows part of this time in the penguins' lives. This book aims 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.

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.

Controversy

Due to the penguin parents being of the same sex, some adults in the United States have objected to children reading the book.cite news | title = Flap over a tale of gay penguins | work = The Observer| last = Harris | first = Paul | date =2006-11-19 | url = http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1951970,00.html | accessdate = 2006-12-21 ]

*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. [cite news | title = Parents want gay penguins book blocked | last = Suhr | first = Jim | url = http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/11/16/parents_want_gay_penguins_book_blocked/?p1=MEWell_Pos1 | date = 2006-11-16 | publisher = Associated Press | work = The Boston Globe | accessdate = 2006-12-21 ]

*In Missouri, parents had the book moved to the school library's non-fiction section.

*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. [cite news | title = Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools | url = http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/12/20/schools_chief_bans_book_on_penguins/ | author = | publisher = Mcclatchy Newspapers | work = The Boston Globe | date = 2006-12-20 | accessdate = 2006-12-21 ]

*The American Library Association reports that "And Tango Makes Three" was the most challenged book of 2006 and 2007. [cite news | title = "And Tango Makes Three" tops ALA's 2006 list of most challenged books | url = http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=news&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=151926 | author = | publisher = American Library Association | work = | date = 2007-03-06 | accessdate = 2007-04-23 ]

*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. [cite news | title = Where's Tango? | url = http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/blogs/living-loco/2008/feb/11/wheres-tango/ | author = Erica Garman| publisher = Washington_Post_Company | work = | date = 2008-02-11 | accessdate = 2008-02-12 ] [cite news | title = Two Guys and a Chick Set Off Tiff Over School Library Policy | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/16/AR2008021602213.html?referrer=emailarticle | author = Michael Alison Chandler| publisher = Washington_Post_Company | work = | date = 2008-02-17 | accessdate = 2008-02-19 ] Hatrick subsequently returned the book into circulation as he found "significant procedural errors that he believes void the process followed in this matter" [cite website | title = "And Tango Makes Three" Decision Voided | url = http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/509759161361/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=474407&C=82592 | date = 2008-03-03 | accessdate = 2008-03-09 ] .

Editions

*"And Tango Makes Three", Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, April 26 2005 ISBN 0-689-87845-1

ee also

*Homosexual_behavior_in_animals#Penguins
*List of animals displaying homosexual behavior

References