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

5 Stars

I thought my schedule only allowed time for one banned/challenged book this week, but I guess I should know by now not to underestimate my reading superpower. Especially when the library had this one available as a little 10-minute audio choice. I opted for that version because me likey the listeny stuff sometimes and . . . .



High five to you, NPH.

Boy this little book has something to offend EVERYONE. The PETA people who think penguins shouldn’t be kept in captivity to begin with, the “only straight married couples should be allowed to adopt,” the homophobes generically. Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell obviously subscribe to the go big or go home approach to writing a sure-to-be challenged book!

Okay, so obviously I’m a big tree hugging lib – at least as far as book reading is concerned. My question is, WTF difference does it make if this book is in a school library? You’re a member of the alt-right movement? YOU be the butthole who is willing to label yourself a butthole and send a note to school that says YOUR kid can’t read this book because you don’t approve of the message. YOU. SOLO. ALONE. Don’t take it off the shelves for everyone else. I mean dang, it’s a book about penguins who adopt a baby that would have never had a chance to survive otherwise (the pro-life people should have been all in favor of this one, FFS). Unless you plan on Little Billy only living on the compound with his sisterwives his entire life this is a pretty benign way of showing how not all families look the same but that it always “takes two to make a Tango” . . . .



And if you think you could win parenthood better than Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka (Spoiler Alert: a GAY couple), I triple-dog dare you to prove it . . . .