And Tango Makes Three

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell Illustrated by Henry Cole

Approaching And Tango Makes Three, I was prepared to find all kinds of ways to defend the viewpoint that it presents, as it is one that I happen to agree with.  But, after some thought, I realized that, as a librarian, I neither needed to defend the viewpoint nor was it my place to express an opinion.  My job is to select quality books on a variety of subjects for my library.  Following the guidelines for quality children's literature as presented in Children's Literature, Briefly, I believe that And Tango Makes Three is a quality children's picture book.

The characters in the book are both unique (who has heard of gay penguins???) yet believable (crazy thing is, it's a true story!!!).   The reader hasn't seen these characters a million times before but they have traits with which most people can identify.  The desire to have a family, be a parent and the nurturing instinct are some of the first human emotions to which we are introduced through our parents and family.

The plot is engaging and elicits the reader's sympathy.  Two super-cute beings falling in love are hard to resist and we tend to root for their success.  Tension is introduced as they start to desire a family but realize that they cannot reproduce.  The reader wonders, "will they ever get to be parents?" "will they be disappointed?" "how will they find a way to get what they want?".  Finally, there is a satisfying conclusion as they become surrogate/adoptive parents who hatch an egg, parent the baby and become a fully formed family.

As a picture book, the book more than succeeds.  The paintings of Central Park and the penguins are lovely.  A reader is hard pressed to not love the round black & white penguins who always seem to be smiling.  The paintings are not only enjoyable to look at, but also play an important part in the story.  On the page in which the penguins sit on the rock, we know from the expressions of the penguins in the painting that the penguins go from curious to bored to tired to anxious as the rock fails to become a baby penguin, though the text never mentions how they felt about the failed experiment.

And Tango Makes Three is understandably controversial as it addresses one of today's hottest issues -- equal rights for same sex couples.  However, it is a book that would be an important addition to a school library both in light of the quality of the book and the creation of a collection that represents many sectors of the population.

The book is most appropriate for Pre-K through 2nd grade students.

Work Cited: Tunnell, Michael O., Jacobs, James S., Young, Terrell A., Bryan, Gregory. Children's Literature, Briefly. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.