Draft 1- And Tango Makes Three Podcast

Hello, and thank you for tuning into my critical literacy podcast.  My name is Noel Sander from Washington D.C.  I want to discuss the role books play in creating spaces for a positive family dynamic.  Today, many books about children and for children frame the concept of family as including a mother and a father.  I did not grow up with stories that touch on even the possibility of homosexual relationships.  However, as of 2011, six states and Washington D.C. grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  Therefore, it’s becoming increasingly common for people to grow up in households with two mothers or two fathers.  

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell start to create this conversation of what it means to be a family and how that impacts your community. The critical literacy starts from the beginning of the book when Richardson introduces Central Park, and how “Every day, families of all kinds go to visit the animals that live there.” 

This book is unique because it is based on a true story about two male penguins raising an egg.  The story normalizes same-sex couples, and to a larger extent comments on the possibility of them being able to successfully raise a child, despite conservative groups who may believe this is not appropriate for young readers.  However, its clear Richardson wrote this book for teachers and parents to intellectually discuss same-sex parent families.  Richardson is making a statement that calls students to break away from the notion that families have to include a mother and a father.  He did this without being preachy and explicitly favoring gay rights. 

This book creates an important discussion on another level.  Since it’s release in 2005, this book has faced a lot of controversy.  In some cases, some schools and libraries have banned this book, making an explicit statement that this book is not good to read.  My concern is what is going to be lost if more libraries take this route.  I believe people are making a bolder statement banning a book than the book’s message itself.  In this case, And Tango Makes Three was subtle.  It did not glorify and promote gay rights, but rather normalized it.  This makes censorship an important part of critical literacy because it creates more conversations about the implications of the book.  One reason why some schools have banned this book is because the zookeeper observes Roy and Silo pair off and claims that they must be in love.   Certain interest groups have argued that is misleading because what is missing from the book is what happened after Roy and Silo raised their baby.  To everyone’s dismay, The New York Times reported in 2005 that Silo paired off with another female penguin.  However, this does not stop the book from creating the conversation about what can make a family.  This book showed that the two male penguins raised a chick just as well as the other animals in the zoo.  Their chick Tango is still a healthy penguin. 

Yet parents still try to push to ban this book.  Banning this book not only creates an ethical discussion, but I also think it creates a legal issue.  Books such as “Daddy’s Roommate” have also been challenged, and eventually went to a district court in Texas.  One library claimed that if they received 300 signatures calling to remove the book they can remove it, but the court disagreed because the library had no review process, and decisions were content-based.  Banning And Tango Makes Three will deprive students of their own explorations and applications of what makes family. 

The fact that there is censorship makes critical literacy interesting.  It implies that there is something there that presumably should not be seen, and therefore should be lost.  But censorship has historically proven to cause a lot of interest.  This fighting over whether or not the book should be kept in libraries only attracts attention.  I believe that students are much more observant than many adults think.  Therefore, this conversation has a direct impact on young readers.