And Tango Makes Three reviewed by Danya- LGBTQ/Banned Books

Genre: LGBTQ/Banned Books

And Tango Makes Three

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Illutstrated by Henry Cole

This true story teaches readers about two male penguins that fell in love at the Central Park Zoo.  The story begins by telling the readers about all of the children and parents that would visit the zoo each year, but then reminds the reader that there were also animal families at the zoo.  Traditionally, a boy and a girl penguin would discover each other and become a couple in the penguin house at the zoo. However, one year, Silo and Roy fell in love and became a couple. They did all of the same things as the other penguin couples, walked together, swan together, sang together, and wound their necks together.  Though they could not produce an egg together, they had just the same parental instincts as the other male/female penguin couples, and when the zoo keeper gave them an egg, they nurtured and took care of that egg until their baby Tango hatched.

This is a heartwarming story that introduces children to non-traditional families and truthfully depicts the same love that can be found in all families, no matter their makeup. Though this is a true story about zoo animals, it quickly became one of the most banned books in the country when it was published. The authors even note the decision for every copy to be removed from libraries in Singapore, and the “read-in” by parents who went to the libraries and read their children this book, eventually causing the government to back down and allow the book.

This story is an excellent read aloud for K-3 students and can spark enriching discussions about how unconventional families can be just the same as traditional families that students may be more familiar with.

“There are forty-two chinstrap penguins in the Central Park Zoo and over ten million chinstraps in the world. But there is only one Tango.”