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A picture book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin is causing controversy among some parents who worry about the book's availability to children — and the reluctance of school administrators to restrict access to it. The concerns are the latest involving "And Tango Makes Three," the illustrated children's book based on a true story of two male penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo that adopted a fertilized egg and raised the chick as their own.

Complaining about the book's homosexual undertones, some parents of Shiloh Elementary School (Shiloh, Illinois) students believe the book — available to be checked out of the school's library in this 11,000–resident town 20 miles east of St. Louis — tackles topics their children aren't ready to handle.

They're requesting to have the book moved to a restricted section for mature issues, perhaps even requiring parental permission before a child can check it out. For now, "And Tango Makes Three" will stay put, said school district Superintendent Jennifer Filyaw, though a panel she appointed suggested the book be moved and require parental permission to be checked out. The district's attorney said moving it might be construed as censorship.

Filyaw considers the book "adorable" and age appropriate, written for children ages 4 to 8. "My feeling is that a library is to serve an entire population," she said. "It means you represent different families in a society — different religions, different beliefs."

The book has raised similar questions elsewhere. Early in 2006, two parents voiced concerns about the book with librarians at the Rolling Hills' Consolidated Library's branch in the northwest Missouri town of Savannah. Barbara Read, Rolling Hills' director, has said she consulted with staff members at the Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City zoos and the University of Oklahoma's zoology department, who told her adoptions aren't unusual in the world of penguins. She said the book was then moved to the non-fiction section because it was based on actual events. In that section, she said, there was less of a chance that the book would "blindside" someone.

related links
Take Our Poll: How would you handle the controversial book?

More about the true story "And Tango Makes Three
Buy "And Tango Makes Three" from Amazon.com
MSNBC's live vote: What should happen to the book?
Museum Exhibit on Homosexuality

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