Yes, And Tango Makes Three Is Banned!

And Tango Makes Three is a 32-page picture book based on a true story. In the Central Park Zoo, two male chinstrap penguins named Roy and Silo formed a pair bond, built a nest together, and were given a fertilized egg by their zookeeper. They incubated it, hatched it, and raised the chick, named Tango. That’s the whole book. Two penguins raise a baby penguin. It’s illustrated with gentle watercolors.

It was the 4th most challenged book in America from 2000 to 2009, and the 6th most challenged from 2010 to 2019. It has been removed from or restricted in school libraries across the country, with parents objecting that the book is “not age-appropriate” and promotes same-sex relationships. In 2023, Escambia County, Florida banned the book, a decision upheld by a federal judge in 2025 who rejected First Amendment challenges. The book was also challenged in Rolling Hills, Missouri; Shiloh, Illinois; and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina. In every case, the objection was the same: two male penguins raising a chick together.

Why You Should Read This

Roy and Silo were real penguins. They really did build a nest. They really did hatch an egg. The zookeeper who gave them the egg, Rob Gramzay, watched them raise Tango the same way any other penguin couple would. The authors didn’t invent the story. They just wrote it down and added pictures.

The book is 32 pages long and written for 4-year-olds. There is no sex. There is no agenda. There are two penguins who wanted a family and a zookeeper who helped them have one. The fact that this story has been banned more times than most books about actual violence tells you everything about what book bans are really about.

Kids who read this book learn that families come in different shapes. Kids whose parents ban this book learn that some families are supposed to be hidden. One of those lessons is kinder than the other.