The Marginalian
The Marginalian

And Tango Makes Three: The True Story of Central Park Zoo’s Same-Sex Penguin Family, Illustrated

The recent historic marriage equality hearings reminded me of an old favorite: And Tango Makes Three (public library) by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, with charming illustrations by Henry Cole. It tells the heartening true story of Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo, who fell in love in 1998 and started a family, raising little Tango — the zoo’s first and only baby-girl with two daddies.

But nothing happened. Then, Mr. Gramzay got an idea:

In 2005, however, just after And Tango Makes Three was published, Roy and Silo parted ways and Silo coupled with a female penguin. Meanwhile, Tango formed a same-sex relationship with another female penguin named Tanuzi. Tango and Tanuzi have remained together for every mating cycle since.


Published April 2, 2013

https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/04/02/and-tango-makes-three/

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