And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Illustrated by Henry Cole.32 p., Simon & Shuster, 2005. Children in two-father families may feel that their family is "different." In the context of describing the animal families at the Central Park Zoo in New York City, this sweet story, which recounts actual events, introduces the penguins, Roy and Silo. Roy and Silo are "a little bit different" from the other penguin couples because they were both boys. A devoted couple, they build a nest together, and Roy finds what he thinks is an egg. It's only a stone, but the two penguins take turns sitting on it as if to hatch it. Of course, no baby hatches. But a kind zookeeper realizes that they're in love and want a baby, so he puts an egg in the nest. They take care of the egg very carefully until their baby, Tango, hatches. The two daddy penguins care lovingly for her in the same ways that the other penguin parents care for their babies. Zoo visitors cheer for Tango. With its gentle, expressive watercolor illustrations, this story acknowledges that two-father families may be atypical in some ways, but not in the essential ones: their care and love for their children. Ages 3-8

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