Diversity

And Tango makes three is a wonderful book about diversity and social issues. The authors are Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. The illustrator is Henry Cole. This is a true story of two chinstrap penguins in Central Park Zoo in New York City. Their names are Roy and Silo. They fell in love with each other and with help from the Zoo staff were able to hatch and care for a baby penguin named Tango.

This book falls into the fiction genre although the events really happened. The book shows respect for others. The zoo keeper was accepting of Roy and Silo. She gave them an egg to hatch themselves. This book exemplifies being able to see and accept others even if they are divergent from us. And Tango makes three also shows an element of self-love and knowing. If there is a child who can relate to this book it shows them that there are many different kinds of families. That it doesn’t matter what families look like so long as there is love, understanding, communication, and respect.

I love this book because it shows diversity in such an open, positive, and natural way. It is easy for children to read and understand the message.

This book can be incorporated into class when taking about family, family heritage, feelings, and the animal kingdom. It is a very versatile book and can fit into a lesson plan with ease.

~AE