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Gay penguins have a place in school libraries?
Ill. district dealing with picture book of two males that raise a chick
SHILOH, Ill. - A picture book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin is getting a chilly reception among some parents who worry about the books 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 childrens book based on a true story of two male penguins in New York Citys Central Park Zoo that adopted a fertilized egg and raised the chick as their own.
Complaining about the books homosexual undertones, some parents of Shiloh Elementary School students believe the book available to be checked out of the schools library in this 11,000-resident town 20 miles east of St. Louis tackles topics their children arent ready to handle.
Move it to mature section?
Their request: Move the book to the librarys regular shelves and restrict it to a 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 districts attorney said moving it might be construed as censorship.
Live Vote: What to do with the book?
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.
Lilly Del Pinto thought the book looked charming when her 5-year-old daughter brought it home in September. Del Pinto said she was halfway through reading it to her daughter when the zookeeper said the two penguins must be in love.
Thats when I ended the story, she said.
Del Pinto said her daughters teacher told her she was unfamiliar with the book, and the schools librarian directed the mother to Filyaw.
I wasnt armed with pitchforks or anything. I innocently was seeking answers, Del Pinto said, agreeing with Filyaws belief that pulling the book from the shelves could constitute censorship.
Earlier incident in Missouri
The book has created similar flaps elsewhere. Earlier this year, two parents voiced concerns about the book with librarians at the Rolling Hills Consolidated Librarys branch in the northwest Missouri town of Savannah.
Barbara Read, Rolling Hills director, has said she consulted with staff members at the Omaha, Neb., and Kansas City zoos and the University of Oklahomas zoology department, who told her adoptions arent unusual in the world of penguins.
She said the book was then moved to the nonfiction 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.
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