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Feb 18, 2008

Marika rated it:

This true story about two penguins who live in the Central Park Zoo has been creating quite a controversy. I heard about the book this morning on The View (yes, I do inevitably end up watching four women squabbling on tv when I don't have to work, and controversies like this are the reason I keep going back!). After hearing about it, I just had to check out the book for myself at Barnes and Noble.

This children's book tells the story of Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins. Like More...

4 comments like (59 people liked it)

Apr 18, 2009

Chandra rated it:

I finally got to see what all the fuss was about! For those who don't know this is the true story about two male chinstrap penguins(Roy and Silo) who become constant companions and even build a nest together. I'll admit I went into this with a little trepidation. It's pretty clear this is an agenda promoting book and, even though it's an agenda I agree with wholeheartedly, it seems a little cynical to use a children's book as a political platform. And since it is an agenda I am pretty inves More...

12 comments like (8 people liked it)

Apr 29, 2009

Kathryn rated it:

Review Updated*SEE COMMENTS*

Encouraged by my friend Chandra's positive review, I decided to finally give this book a try. It's popularity and controversy made me tentative before--not due to the subject, but because I thought it might have been a platform book meant to push an agenda, rather than simply tell a good story. Upon reading, I have come to the decision that it is both.

This is the very sweet true story of two penguins from the Central Park Zoo who happen to be More...

13 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 02, 2008

Marie rated it:

This is apparently the #1 banned book in the country! My husband sought it out at the library, and it has a big red tag on the cover that says "BANNED!" I love the fact that it is a true story!

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Sep 16, 2008

Kimberlyn rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 09, 2008

Krista rated it:

As fond followers of ALA’s “Banned Book Week” would admit, when a title such as this one is added to the infamous list, it only makes circulation numbers on the title go up as well as critical discussion on the values of the work. The fact that the plot is based on a true story adds so much narrative power and reliability, and makes Richardson’s work one of the most excellent and relevant sources out of the fairly lackluster and minimal collection on this topic to date. Richardson is an assistan More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 26, 2008

Lisa rated it:

Good grief Charlie Brown! What is all the fuss about this book, anyway?!?!!

This is a very sweet story. It’s the true tale about 2 male penguins who are a pair and how they came to tend an egg and then raise Tango, a baby penguin. This happens at the Central Park Zoo in New York City, and the illustrations really show off Central Park and the zoo; they’re beautiful and the expressions on the penguins’ faces are priceless.

This is a picture book for 4-8 year olds and it’s a More...

15 comments like (9 people liked it)

May 19, 2008

Linda rated it:

Although this is a controversial book, it is wonderfully writen. This is a true story of two boy penguins fall in love and adopt an egg to care for and raise as their own. It illustrates how there are different kinds of families and how they all share the same kind of love. Kids will enjoy the story and love the penguins and this will open up their minds and invite discussions on different kinds of families. Pre-k through 2nd.

From SLJ:
"This tale based on a true story ab More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 01, 2009

Krista the Krazy Kataloguer rated it:

Cute story about 2 male penguins who hatch an egg and become parents at the zoo in Central Park. Apparently this actually happened at the zoo. There was a book that came out a while back about homosexuality in nature--Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity by Bruce Bagemihl. This incident at the zoo would seem to bear out the author's observations. Most interesting.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 07, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

Overall I thought this was a really good book. I thought it was nice how it put it through an animals perspective and also that it was a true story! I thought that the author, Justin Richardson, did a very good job of putting the words into something that young children could understand and react to very easily. Another reason why I really enjoyed this book is because it showed that not just parents, but animals can have families that consist of two mothers or two fathers too and even though it More...

0 comments like

Mar 23, 2011

Kelly rated it:

Lighthearted and not even remotely heavy-handed, this book is a great addition to any collection of books trying to show the many possible compositions of a loving family. (In case you somehow missed the hysteria, And Tango Makes Three is the true story of two male penguins in the Central Park Zoo who enthusiastically adopt an egg in need of a loving family.)

Reading through other reviews, one seemed to summarize (for me) what makes lots of folks nervous about this book. The reviewe More...

0 comments like

Mar 06, 2011

Esther rated it:

Published in 2005 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Interest Level: 3rd-6th Grade

This is based on a true story about a same-sex penguin couple that are given an egg to hatch. At first it seems as if the couple are just a cute duo of male penguin friends. Then they are given an egg to hatch together and it is clear they are a same-sex couple. This depiction of homosexuality is a less overt way to explain and show its implications and concerns. The book has drawings that More...

2 comments like

Oct 24, 2010

N_stefanie rated it:

If you only buy one new book to add to your classroom library, this is the one I would recommend! I couldn’t be happier to find a book that honestly and innocently portrays an “alternative” family structure that can provide some scaffolding for future interactions with children of same-sex parents. From my perspective, it is perfect. Even the illustrations are wonderfully playful, accurate, and fill the pages!

“In the zoo there are all kinds of animal families. But Tango’s family More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 12, 2010

Peacegal rated it:

It’s penguins! Gay penguins! How could anybody hate penguins? Well, it would seem that many people do, as And Tango Makes Three is one of the most challenged and banned recent books to waddle its way onto bookshelves.

The outcry probably wasn’t a surprise to the authors. They knew they were wading into touchy territory when they decided to create a picture book out of the true story of two male penguins at New York’s Central Park Zoo who paired off as mates, built a nest, and eventua More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 30, 2010

Ronyell rated it:

“And Tango Makes Three” is an Aspca Henry Bergh Book award winning book about how two male penguins, Roy and Silo, try to have a child together. Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell along with illustrations by Henry Cole makes “And Tango Makes Three” a truly touching story about what it takes to make a true family.

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell have done a great job at discussing one of the major issues in our society in a lighthearted and comforting way. Justin Richardson and More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 29, 2010

Joanna rated it:

I wanted to read this during the Hundred Book Challenge due to the fact that it has constantly appeared near the top of the banned/challenged book lists every year since its publication.

You would not think that a simple story about the penguins at the Central Park Zoo would be so objectionable, except for the fact that two male penguins fall in cold penguin neck nuzzling love and wind up hatching an egg and raising a baby penguin together. Apparently, the fact that these penguins ar More...

0 comments like

Apr 19, 2010

Joanie rated it:

Seeing as this is one of the most frequently banned or challenged books out there I just had to read it. My library had it on the parenting shelf in the children's room (along with storybooks about divorce, death, new babies etc) which I guess is an appropriate spot but it also made me wonder if this was done because of all the negative attention the book has received. In all fairness, there are two shelves of "special interest" storybooks in the parenting section so this book was in More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 08, 2011

528_Mary Hoch rated it:

When all the other boy and girl penguins at the Central Park Zoo start doing things together, Roy and Silo realize they are a bit different. They also enjoy doing things like swimming together, walking together, and singing to each other, even though they are both boys. All the other penguin couples build a nest together for their egg, which, with their care, hatches into a baby penguin. Roy and Silo realize this is something they cannot do. The zookeeper, Mr. Gramzay , gets an idea when he More...

0 comments like

Sep 18, 2011

Becky rated it:

This is a sweet story about 2 male chinstrap penguins, Roy and Silo, who are frustrated because they couldn't seem to lay and hatch a penguin chick like others in their penguin house at the zoo. A sympathetic zookeeper notices and brings a rejected egg to their twiggy nest. Together they hatch the egg and teach the baby chick, Tango, how to swim and get food. This new family joined right in with the other penguin families, and "Tango was the first penguin in the zoo to have two daddies." More...

0 comments like

Oct 27, 2010

N_katieg52 rated it:

And Tango Makes Three is a charming book about penguin relationships. In this story, the penguins at the Central Park Zoo and around the same time, the penguins start noticing each other and forming couples. Silo and Roy also started to notice each other and have a great time together. The zookeeper noticed that they were in love. They knew that they were different and were sad they weren't hatching eggs like the other couples. Mr. Gramzay, the zookeeper, put another egg in their nest that More...

2 comments like

Feb 26, 2011

Leane rated it:

This is a controversial book about a pair of male penguins who raise their own baby chick together in Central Park Zoo. It is based on a true story.

I found the book to be very cute. The author begins by stating that usually, boy and girl penguins begin to notice each other and spend time together at the same time each year. However Roy and Silo were two boy penguins who did everything together. Later, Roy and Silo realize that they cannot have a baby chick like the other pengui More...

0 comments like

Feb 28, 2010

Ch_robyn rated it:

(YouTube Video) Wow, I had never heard of this book until now, but after reading the article this week I was very interested in seeing firsthand how the topic of same-sex couples was depicted in children's literature. I watched this reading on You Tube as well, and totally have mixed feelings.

First of all, I would have found this animal-version of same sex coupling a bit hokey, and a little bit of a cop-out in dealing with the relevant contemporary issue, had it not been for the fac More...

0 comments like

Aug 29, 2009

Mukesh rated it:

Yes, technically I haven't read this book. But considering it's a childrens book and I've read the reviews, I'm pretty sure I understand the general premise.
This is truly ridiculous. People say that "hatred and racism are dead, a black man is president." This is very not true. It is also true that stupidity is not dead. This book does not have the penguins marry, it does not say that the penguins love each other, it is just giving the cold hard facts, about two penguins. More...

2 comments like

Mar 03, 2011

Nancy rated it:

Published: 2005, Simon & Schuster
Age: 4-8
This charming, based on fact story about two male penguins in New York City’s Central Park Zoo that share a nest and want to be parents will captivate little children and adults. There are lots of things to discuss here: It’s ok to be different, what being a parent means, different kinds of families, and of course, a penguin’s environment, types of penguins, and how they hatch their eggs. The watercolor illustrations go perfect with the text; More...

2 comments like

Dec 09, 2011

Louise rated it:

This little book about some penguins at Central Park Zoo has been the most challenged and banned book in the US for the past 3 years! Why? Simply because it recounts the true story of two male penguins who bonded and then displayed nesting behaviour. When their keeper has a spare egg from another penguin couple he gives it to Roy and Silo to look after. They do a fantastic job, and Tango is born 34 days later. I read it to find why it was so threatening to numbers of people, and of course it sho More...

0 comments like

Oct 28, 2010

N_Allie rated it:

This is an incredibly different kind of book; I can almost guarantee that you have never read a children's book like this before. Suprisingly, this book is geared towards ages 4-8.

Written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole, this non-fiction story stars two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who live in the Central Park Zoo. The only real difference between these two male penguins and the rest of the male penguins is "they discovered each other in 199 More...

1 comment like

Oct 01, 2009

(NS) Mary rated it:

And Tango Makes Three  by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole, Simon (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing) 2005.

K-3 At New York City's Central Park Zoo, two male penguins fall in love and start a family by taking turns sitting on an abandoned egg until it hatches. –Summary from WorldCat

I LOVE this story for many reasons. First off, as one librarian told me, “penguins are the new dinosaurs.” Meaning, kids love penguins now, like many of t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 26, 2011

Julie rated it:

And Tango Makes Three, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, is based on a true story of two penguins living in the Central Park Zoo, who fall in love and form a family. The reason the book has been challenged so much is that the penguins are both boys.

The authors start the story by describing Central Park and the zoo that is located there. They talk about the people visiting the zoo ~ all types of families. Then they explain that the animals in the zoo are families too. When More...

0 comments like

Oct 07, 2009

~*~Teresa Gyllenhaal~*~ rated it:

I just sat down in the library one day and read this book and cried at the end.

This is such a touching little story! I cannot believe some libraries have banned it simple because the family is made up of two male penguins.

I would like to thank Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, and Henry Cole for this fantastic book! It was well written and contained a very touching story. I think, as an ally of the LGBTQIA community, this book gives me a little hope for something. The way th More...

0 comments like

Apr 07, 2011

akaellen rated it:

Did you know that this is the most contested book of 2007?

I had to see what all the hoopla was about...what i found was a sweet, sweet book based on the true story of 2 male penguins who live in the Central Park Zoo and seem to be "a couple".

If you haven't seen this book - look it up. It will take you about 5 mins to read and you will support our free access to all kinds of information.

Fight Censorship!!!

1 comment like (1 person liked it)