Penguin book moved from children’s section

updated 11:19 a.m. ET March 6, 2006

SAVANNAH, Mo. - A children’s book about two male penguins that raise a baby penguin has been moved to the nonfiction section of two public library branches after parents complained it had homosexual undertones.

The illustrated book, “And Tango Makes Three,” is based on a true story of two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City’s Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s.

The book, written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, was moved from the children’s section at two Rolling Hills’ Consolidated Library’s branches in Savannah and St. Joseph in northwest Missouri.

Two parents had expressed concerns about the book last month.

Barbara Read, the Rolling Hills’ director, said experts report that adoptions aren’t unusual in the penguin world. However, moving the book to the nonfiction section would decrease the chance that it would “blindside” readers, she said.

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