Florida School District Bans Book on Gay Penguin Couple
An award-winning book about the true story of a same-sex penguin couple raising a chick has been banned by a Florida school district in response to the state’s “don’t say gay” law.The 2005 book And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell was one of three books reportedly removed from the libraries and classrooms of the Lake County School District in central Florida.
The other books removed were Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss and In Our Mother’s House by Patricia Polacco. According to Popular Information, the board said the titles were “administratively removed due to content regarding sexual orientation/gender identification prohibited in HB 1557,” otherwise known as the Parental Rights in Education Act — the so-called "don't say gay" law.While the book does not contain any discussion of same-sex sexual relations or instruction, it does tell the real-life story of two male chinstrap penguins who cohabitate and raised a penguin chick together.“At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others,” publisher Simon & Schuster says on its website. “But their desire for a family was the same.
And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo got the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own.”The book has won numerous awards, including CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council), CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book, Nick Jr.
