And Tango Makes Three

Richardson, Justin and Peter Parnell (writers) Henry Cole (illustrator). 2005. And Tango Makes Three. New York: Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers

And Tango Makes Three is a story that displays the diversity of a family among animals living in Central Park zoo, New York. Roy and Silo are two male penguins who begin to build a relationship. The two penguins are able to all same things as the other penguin couples, besides lay and hatch an egg. The zoo keeper notices this and provides Roy and Silo with an egg. As the other penguins, Roy and Silo take turns sitting on the egg to keep it warm and fetching food. Soon the egg hatches and their family is complete with their baby girl penguin, Tango. Several individuals from the community visit the zoo and admire Roy, Silo, and Tango’s happy family.

Richardson and Parnell’s book And Tango Makes Three does an excellent job of portraying a non-traditional family. Due to the fact that being “different” usually entails a negative connotation, the use of the characters being animals allows the reader to attach a sense of sensitivity and understanding. I also appreciated that although the main characters are animals, their relationship and family unit is depicted no differently than one would be if the characters were humans. Roy and Silo seek after a family that is united with love, raising a child, and whom perform daily activities together.

I believe that in addition to providing a great example to introducing the idea of homosexuality to a classroom, I also feel that this story will allow my students and other readers to feel comfortable with the unfamiliar family structure. The book is based on a true story. In addition to great remarks by several readers, this book has won several awards including the prominent 2006 American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children’s Book Award.