And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

I loved this book! I love that this book is based on the true lives of two incredible penguins living in the Central Park Zoo in New York. Only in New York, right? Wrong! These two penguins--Roy and Silo did what any other animal would do--look for a friend and then spend time together. I think we all possess an innate need for love and companionship. People, animals, and birds pair up together all of the time to help fulfill this need. Just looking at other books I have reviewed for this blog, you can see examples of inter-special relationships (a dog and elephant or tiger cubs and a dog).

I thought the watercolor paintings were very heartwarming and full of detail. I know from my own experiences, that it is hard to tell male and female penguins apart, so I wouldn't have probably even known that this unique pairing had occurred. I like how the authors made a point of talking about how Roy and Silo were such great friends that did everything together--when it came to raising a family, there was only one problem. No egg.

An astute zookeeper noticed the interesting tell-tale signs of preparing a nest for an egg and gave these boys a chance to hatch an abandoned egg. This lesson of animal adoption is a wonderful way of demonstrating nature's determination. Of course, when Tango was hatched--the product of two male penguin parents, a sensation was created. Tango--adorable and a lesson in love all rolled into one fluffy penguin baby girl.

I know that those opposing this book concentrate on what they would call an innappropriate message of homosexuality and the erosion of morals in our society. For me, I am on nature's side. I think that this is an amazing opportunity to share with our youth lessons from the wild kingdom. We can assume and hopefully agree that it is not the media or popular trends that are "forcing" these penguins into homosexuality. On the contrary, they have a natural bond with another creature that happens to be the same sex.

One of my favorite shows, Will and Grace, had an episode talking about two gay male penguins and how they were going to be separated. They spent all of their time together and were nothing but loving. There was media coverage, which sent the main characters to the zoo in support of the couple remaining together. This episode was probably slightly after Tango was born and a commentary of what we believe is right or not in our lives. I was happy that in the show, the couple was allowed to remain together.

I would definitely use this book in almost any age elementary classroom setting. I think children of all ages would be interested in such a unique occurance. I would buy a copy and place it into my classroom library. I think it would be an interesting book for a read aloud helping to reinforce the importance of accepting others for who they are--be it a gay penguin, a boy in ballet, or a girl who plays football. Having an open attitude as a teacher can help lead to a great discussion where students can hear differing viewpoints (in a nonderogatory way, of course). Even though kids might not truly understand what gay means, they still tend to have an opinion--based on peers, parents, and their environment. Our families and society is constantly changing, so we need to keep up by being aware of the topics being discussed in children's literature because they are usually topics kids are talking about themselves. In keeping with inquiry learning, this book would help shape opinions and views about a true occurance in the Big Apple.