Children's book on gay penguins has parents concerned

SHILOH, Ill. A book about two male penguins falling in love and raising a baby has some parents at Shiloh Elementary School questioning the subject matter.

Some parents say "And Tango Makes Three," a gay-themed picture book that can be checked out of the school's library, tackles topics their young children aren't ready to handle. They asked that it be removed from the regular shelves and restricted to a section for mature issues.

But school officials say it's important to provide diverse reading materials for students: They fear that moving the book is tantamount to censorship.

For now, the book is still available to all students.

"Please allow us to know when our child is ready for certain introductions," parent Lilly Del Pinto said. "Each of us knows our child best."

Del Pinto said she started reading the book to her kindergartner, who brought it home from the school library earlier in the semester. Mom was surprised by the tale that unfolded.

"When it came to the point where the zookeeper saw that the penguins were in love, I redirected [my daughter]," she said. "That was the end of the story for her."

Del Pinto said she's not against gay people nor does she want the book completely banned from the library. But the point at which a child learns about homosexuality should be up to parents, she said.

She and a group of like-minded parents approached the Shiloh School Board with their concerns.

A committee of school employees and a parent suggested the book be moved to a separate shelf, requiring parental permission before checkout.

Superintendent Jennifer Filyaw rejected the proposal. She said the school board will look at general library policies, but "Tango" will likely remain on the shelf.

"I feel that a library should represent different aspects of our society," she said. "We in no way want to discriminate against our society."

She said one solution might come when the library catalog is updated by the end of the year; parents could restrict their children from checking out certain titles, and this request would appear when the librarian scans the student's card.

Del Pinto said the school suggested she send a written list of books she does not want her daughter borrowing. She did so but said this won't work because parents can't be aware of every book.

Parents picking up their children from school recently had mixed feelings about the book.

Kerri Richards and Keith Ray said they wouldn't mind their 7- year-old son reading a story with gay characters.

"Eventually, they're going to have questions," Ray said.

Rogelio Del Rio said he would have concerns in the case of his 5- year-old daughter.

"She's too young to be reading stuff like that," he said.

"Tango" is based on a real story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan who exhibited homosexual behavior. They were given a fertilized egg, cared for it and helped raise the chick, named Tango. The picture book is geared toward ages 4 to 8.

(It's different from many other gay-themed children's books because it was published by the mainstream press, and homosexuality isn't a source of conflict, said Christine Jenkins, associate professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She said the characters are just gay and living their lives the plot doesn't grapple with being homosexual as do many books for youths of the same nature.

The American Library Association has had three reported requests for banning or restricting the book nationwide. In Iowa, it was moved from children's picture books to a section on penguins in non- fiction. Nothing happened in the two other cases, said Erin Byrne, associate director for the library association's office of intellectual freedom.

To Byrne, moving controversial books to other sections is "just another form of censorship," she said.

(C) 2006 The Record, Bergen County, NJ. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved