And Tango Makes Three

This adorable, true story follows two male penguins, Roy and Silo, from the Central Park Zoo. They are chinstrap penguins that live in an exhibit in New York. Roy and Silo do everything together—they swim and play and build a nest for a baby penguin. They're best friends and in love, but can't do everything that other couples do. They see all the other penguin couples laying eggs and hatching babies, and they want one, too. They "adopt" a rock and sit on it to keep it warm, hoping that it would turn into a baby penguin. After a while, the zookeeper observes their behavior and takes an extra egg and gives it to the penguins to care for. Roy and Silo love the egg like it is their own and they keep careful watch over it for months. Eventually, the egg hatches and Tango, a young girl penguin, joins their family! 

In my opinion, this was such a cute book with an incredible and happy ending! Personally, I think that it is important and valuable to have literature like this in a classroom. Approaching the subject of homosexuality is so difficult with children, especially because it is a topic that is not universally agreed upon. Despite this, it is highly likely that students we encounter will have homosexual parents, family members, or friends. They may even be homosexual themselves. It is important to teach our children that people are people, no matter their sexual orientation. This book does this in a genuine way that shows these kinds of relationships are natural, especially because we can find them in nature! 

I can clearly understand where schools and parents are hesitant to share this book with their children. Sexuality is a sensitive and heavy subject, which some find too uncomfortable to talk about with their own children. In my opinion, however, I find this book to be more about family and love than it is about furthering the LGBTQ+ agenda. It is a positive thing to have literature like this in a classroom, no matter how young students are. Although conversations about sexuality may be difficult and awkward, it is essential that educators show acceptance for all and celebrate the differences that people, or penguins, have. If we do not, we risk ostracizing a child or inadvertently telling a child that who they are is unacceptable or wrong. 

And Tango Makes Three 
By: Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell 
Illustrated by: Henry Cole 
Published in 2005