Module 15: And Tango Makes Three

Book Summary:

Roy and Silo aren’t like other penguins. Instead of finding a nice female penguin to create a penguin family, they are happy with each other’s company. The only problem is they are unable to lay their own egg to raise a penguin chick. When an egg needs help to survive, the zookeeper gives it to Roy and Silo to hatch and raise. They take great care of their egg, and soon they have their own chick to feed and teach penguin ways. That chick is named Tango, and together, they all make a family.

APA Reference of Book:

Richardson, J. & Cole, H. (2005). And Tango makes three. New York, NY: Simon and Shuster Books for Young Readers.

Impressions:

This was a cute story about two animals who didn’t quite fit the expected mold. It is interesting that there are so many objections to this book as the story it tells really happened. I’m sure there was more to the real life story, but the way it was presented in this book is easy to read and for children to understand how things happened.

Tango’s story is short and straight-forward. Children will enjoy reading about how her egg was saved and hatched by two penguins who were unable to lay their own egg.

Professional Review:

Roy and Silo were "a little bit different" from the other male penguins: instead of noticing females, they noticed each other. Thus penguin chick Tango, hatched from a fertilized egg given to the pining, bewildered pair, came to be "the only penguin in the Central Park Zoo with two daddies." As told by Richardson and Parnell (a psychiatrist and playwright), this true story remains firmly within the bounds of the zoo's polar environment, as do Cole's expressive but still realistic watercolors (a far cry from his effete caricatures in Harvey Fierstein's The Sissy Duckling0 , 2002). Emphasizing the penguins' naturally ridiculous physiques while gently acknowledging their situation, Cole's pictures complement the perfectly cadenced text--showing, for example, the bewildered pair craning their necks toward a nest that was "nice, but a little empty." Indeed, intrusions from the zookeeper, who remarks that the nuzzling males "must be in love," strike the narrative's only false note. Further facts about the episode conclude, but it's naive to expect this will be read only as a zoo anecdote. However, those who share this with children will find themselves returning to it again and again--not for the entree it might offer to matters of human sexuality, but for the two irresistible birds at its center and for the celebration of patient, loving fathers who "knew just what to do."

Mattson, Jennifer (2005, May 15). And Tango makes three [Review of the book And Tango makes three by Justin Richardson and Henry Cole]. Booklist, 101(18), 1657. Retrieved from http://www.esebco.com/books/show/170731/searches/170731

Library Uses

Great for use when presenting the differences between different types of families. Also could be used for a brief introduction to penguins and how they interact and raise their young.