A dispute over a school library book in a little town just west of Downstate Scott Air Force Base has attracted national attention this weekend. The book, And Tango Makes Three, tells the story of two male penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo which adopted a penguin embryo as their own.
The controversy was raised when Shiloh Village School parent Lily Del Pinto read to her five year old daughter that the story's zookeeper said the male penguins were "in love." Mrs. Pinto complained to the school library and principal about what she thought was inappopriate material for 5 year olds.
The school's superintendent disagreed. She and Mrs. Del Pinto were featured on Fox News Saturday afternoon and in today's Washington Times.
"I think this book should be labelled for mature audiences," Mrs. Del Pinto said Saturday.
The School Library Journal describes And Tango Makes Three in this way:
Roy and Silo, two male penguins, are "a little bit different." They cuddle and share a nest like the other penguin couples, and when all the others start hatching eggs, they want to be parents, too. Determined and hopeful, they bring an egg-shaped rock back to their nest and proceed to start caring for it. They have little luck, until a watchful zookeeper decides they deserve a chance at having their own family and gives them an egg in need of nurturing.
The authors report when they do public readings of their book, the children have no problem with the concept of two daddies, they simply want to know where the egg came from. . .
We quit buying any books other than classics for our kids at Barnes and Nobles or Borders years ago. The same is true, if not more so, for our grandkids. This type of soft propaganda will speed up family structure confusion and perpetuate insecurity in our children. We need to promote traditional family structure, not play with these offensive concepts packaged in appealing wrappers.
Taxpayer dollars are used to purchase these books. Parents should hold their school officials and library boards responsible for spending dollars on controversial books. If they are donated, that's one thing, but library board members should be sensitive to their community when they spend state-confiscated money on books that mock their religious values.
Fact is, folks, And Tango Makes Three is probably in your children's libraries and may have already been taught to your children. A teacher's guide is easily accessible on Amazon.com.
Link: Penguin book stirs Illinois school - Nation/Politics - insider.washingtontimes.com.
