And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Illustrated by Henry Cole
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publisher Date: April 26th, 2005
Ages: 2+
Synopsis:
This is a true story about two male penguins who appeared to "fall in love" at the Central Park zoo in New York City. These two male penguins gravitated towards each other rather than other females of their clan and desperately tried to make a rock hatch in order to be a family of their own. As the zookeeper notices their behavior he is anxious to help and soon these two have the family that they dreamed of.
Medals and Challenges
In the last 10 years alone this book has made it on the ALA Top 10 Most Challenged Books 4 times. Since its release in 2005 it has appeared on the list 8 times for the reasons of; LGBTQIA+, same sex relations, and the "homosexual agenda".
Even with all these challenges, this book received several awards including but not limited to ALA Notable Children's Book Nominee in 2006, the ASPCA Henry Bergh Book Award in 2005, and was named one of the Bank Street Best Books of the Year in 2006.
Review:
This narrative nonfiction is written in a story format with characters, plots, and a theme that makes it easy for readers t connect too. I found this story to be insightful and challenging the question of what a family looks like.
As these two penguins find themselves in father hood, they learn together how to thrive as a family unit with their little baby Tango. Children that come from similar households can automatically relate and see that they aren't as different as they may think. I love this book and think that the LGBTQ+ representation in the book is extremely important for all libraries and schools to have in order to have a diverse and complete collection.
Illustrator Henry Cole creates beautiful pencil drawings that could stand on their own and filled with emotions. This powerful book represents same-sex marriages and is important in any library collection.
Resources:
ALA (2021). Top 10 most challenged book lists American Library Association https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10
Parnell, P., & Richardson. J. (2005). And two makes tango. Simon & Schuster Children's Books
I think I figured the problem! I wasn't logged in to the website before, so that might be why the comment didn't go through. 😅
Hi Ashley,
I posted a comment on your post a few weeks ago, but apparently, it hasn't been sent! Hopefully, this one will.
I love And Tango Makes Three, and you did a great job giving an overview of the book. I agree that it is a powerful resource, and the fact that it is still being challenged shows how important it is.
Your blog looks great, it is easy to go through your posts, and I liked the fonts you chose :)
Amanda Signori.