BIBLIOGRAPHY

Richardson, Justin and Peter Parnell. 2005. And Tango makes three. Ill. by Henry Cole. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689878451

PLOT SUMMARY

At New York City’s Central Park Zoo, two penguins in the penguin exhibit spend a lot of time together, and bond to form a pair. When the other penguin pairs begin making nests and laying eggs, Roy and Silo built their own nest of stones and attempted to hatch a rock. Mr. Gramzay found an egg that belonged to another penguin pair that needed to be cared for and put it in Roy and Silo’s nest. Roy and Silo sat on the egg and took care of it. Finally, the egg hatched and Tango the penguin was born. Roy and Silo taught Tango everything that the other baby penguins knew, but Tango was different—she “was the very first penguin in the zoo to have two daddies”. The soft, watercolor illustrations by Cole perfectly complement the story, and the expressions on the faces of the two quizzical penguins will amuse and delight readers, who will find themselves wishing for a field trip to visit Roy, Silo, and Tango—in “person”.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)

Roy and Silo are chinstrap penguins that still live in the zoo in Central Park. In 1998, they discovered each other “and they have been a couple ever since”. The penguins are cuddly, and realistic enough to delight penguin lovers with their black and white feathers, waddly-walk, and inquiring expressions on their faces.

Richardson and Parnell introduce the story with a description of Central Park and the families that visit the zoo as well as those that live there. Most of the families described are traditional families, but “two penguins in the penguin house were a little bit different. Roy and Silo were both boys. But they did everything together.” In the story, it is just that simple to introduce a family that is a bit different. The description of Roy and Silo becoming partners and making a home together is handled with humor and understanding, encouraging readers to view the world of relationships without stereotypes and bias. Although Roy, Silo, and Tango are not exactly the average family, “they snuggled together and, like all the other penguins in the penguin house, and all the other animals in the zoo, and all the families in the big city around them, they went to sleep”.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publisher’s Weekly Tango has two daddies in this heartwarming tale, inspired by actual events in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Two male penguins, Roy and Silo, “did everything together. They bowed to each other…. They sang to each other. And swam together. Wherever Roy went, Silo went too…. Their keeper… thought to himself, `They must be in love.’ ” Cole’s (The Sissy Duckling) endearing watercolors follow the twosome as they frolic affectionately in several vignettes and then try tirelessly to start a family-first they build a stone nest and then they comically attempt to hatch a rock. Their expressive eyes capture a range of moods within uncluttered, pastel-hued scenes dominated by pale blue. When the keeper discovers an egg that needs tending, he gives it to Roy and Silo, who hatch and raise the female.

Kirkus Reviews. In this true, straightforwardly (so to speak) delivered tale, two male chinstrap penguins at New York City’s Central Park Zoo bond, build a nest and-thanks to a helping hand from an observant zookeeper-hatch and raise a penguin chick. Seeing that the penguins dubbed Roy and Silo “did everything together. They bowed to each other. And walked together. They sang to each other. And swam together,” their keeper, Mr. Gramzay, thinks, “They must be in love.” And so, when Roy and Silo copy the other penguin couples and build a nest of stones, it’s Gramzay who brings a neighboring couple’s second egg for them to tend, then names the resulting hatchling “Tango.”

CONNECTIONS

This story can be used as an introduction to a discussion about the varying types of families.  

Look for these other books about families:

Bryan, Jennifer. The different dragon. ISBN 9780967446868

Skutch, Robert. Who’s in a family? ISBN 9781883672133

Newman, Leslea. Heather has two mommies. ISBN 9781555835705

Willhoite, Michael. Daddy’s roommate. ISBN 9781555831189

Garden, Nancy. Molly’s family. ISBN 9780374350024