They're Just Penguins-Leave the Book Alone

A committee at an Illinois school district has been assigned to decide the fate of one of the library's children's books begging the question: to shelve or not to shelve?

In the most recent uproar of controversy over the book "And Tango Makes Three," some parents from Shiloh Elementary school in Illinois have asked that the book be made unavailable to children setting off a firestorm of whether this is censorship or parents' rights to decide what is best for their children to view.

The apparent problem with the book for some people is that it is based on the true story of two male penguins who ended up raising a chick - from an egg that had been abandoned by the biological parents. Some interpret the book as acceptance of homosexuality, and the latest events in Illinois is not the first time the book has caused an uproar.

Among the solutions to the ongoing debate, some libraries have placed the book in the non-fiction section of the library away from most other children's books. Other libraries have required a parent's signed permission slip in order for a child to check the book out. Still others actually include the book in curriculums as a way of introducing children to the concept of homosexuaity.

The book is written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and was published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
In the real life version of "And Tango Makes Three," two male penguins, Roy and Silo at the Central Park Zoo in New York, became mates (penguins actually mate for life). Zookeepers gave the couple an egg after the egg was abandoned, and Roy and Silo were able to hatch the egg.

While the issue over homosexuality and gay marriage is a hot debate right now and the controversy over this book obviously has roots in this debate, the fact remains that this a children's book based on real life. Regardless of whatever a person's stance on the subject of homosexuality may be, it does not deny the fact that this happened.