And Tango Makes Three

Richardson, J., & Parnell, P. (2005). And Tango Makes Three. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Readability lexile: AD720L

Adult Directed - Picture books often get an AD or "Adult Directed" code. They're usually read to a child, rather than a child reading them independently. Although seemingly easy reading, some picture books actually have pretty high Lexile measures, and could present a challenging independent reading experience to an age-appropriate reader. Initially, an adult may want to read the book along with the child.

Summary:

Roy and Silo have built a nest and have plenty of love to share with their newly adopted egg. Based on a true story about two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo, this book is a wonderful lesson for families of all kinds.

Evaluation of the text based on Donna Norton's characteristics of high quality literature (Norton, D. (2011):

This book could be used as high quality literature, because it serves for multiple avenues of learning. For example, this book has great illustrations that show a variance of skin colors of the visitors at the zoo. The book also shows how love is enough for any couple to raise and care for an egg. The conflict, which is how two male penguins hatch an egg together by sharing the extra egg from another pair of penguins, is solved by the zoo keeper. The penguins are same sex, but there is no judgment. The book does a wonderful job at demonstrating that is all right for two penguins to be best friends, and love each other.

In the Ten Steps for Reviewing Children's Literature by Norton, I think this book addresses lifestyles the best. The book discusses how two male penguins come together to hatch an egg by the love they have for one another. 

Literary Elements:

1. Theme: Love; Family. 

2. Setting: The Central Park Zoo

3. Tone: Happiness; Affectionate. 

Mini-Lesson:

The lesson I would teach would be about family. This would be a great book to incorporate into a unit about family. Students need to learn that all families are not the same and that is okay.

Target Audience: Grades K-2

My personal reaction to this book was that I thought it was really cute. I think it would easily grab the attention of young readers and actively engage them. I enjoyed the concept of using animals versus people to address same sex relationships.