So Here is it Readers. The Most Challenged List of 2006 compiled by the American Library Association.
"(They) reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:
“And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
“Gossip Girls” series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
“Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
“The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
“Scary Stories” series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;
“Athletic Shorts” by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language;
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
“Beloved” by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group; and
“The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.
Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain."
I was curious about "And Tango Makes Three" so I checked it out from my local library. This is a true story about two male penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo who "are a little different from the other penguins" (Yes, that's just exactly how the author explains it.) because they fall in love with each other rather than with two other female penguins. They do everything together, however they soon discover they cannot do one thing the other penguin couples can do. Though they make a perfect little nest just like all the other penguins, they cannot produce an egg. Eventually out of desperation, one of them finds an egg shaped rock. Day after day they sit on it, but of course it never hatches because it is only a rock. Finally a sympathetic zookeeper has an idea. When another penguin couple lays two eggs (penguins can only sit on one), he gives the extra to his poor eggless couple. They are very, very careful to take turns sitting on it. When the baby chick finally hatches, the zookeeper names her Tango. The two fathers teach her how to swim and take good care of her. The little family can still be seen at the Central Park Zoo today.
Personally, I love everything about this story from the beautiful illustrations to the tasteful way it is told. Because it's a TRUE tale depicting a compassionate a zookeeper, the ethical value of tolerating differences circumvents the more subtle message that these penguins are homosexual, in my humble opinion. A child who doesn't yet understand how babies are made may not even get why the two penguins are "a little different" or may simply assume they are different because they can't lay an egg. In any case, whether a parent approves or disapproves of the gay lifestyle, I would think any parent would want their child to be kind to an animal who didn't understand.
I wanted to see what the "other side" had to say about it, so I went googling and found this site:
Monday, March 19th, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/yp85he
Scroll down the page and you'll come to an article titled, "A glimpse of our future unless you stand" where they highlight a new UK Government Program that teaches/"normalizes" Homosexuality. Three books are pictured "King and King"-- a modern fairytale about a prince who rejects three princesses, then finally finds a prince to marry; "Spacegirl Pukes" about a girl who has two mothers (I couldn't even find this on Amazon); and "And Tango Makes Three."
Further down we find a plea-- "The Christian Voice advocacy group is calling for parents to act, pledging to identify the schools where the books are in use so they can be pressured to remove them from the curriculum."
Well it's one thing to remove a book from the "curriculum." The word 'curriculum' is key here, because that means the book is forced reading. But a lot of parents think they need to remove these books off library shelves so that others may not read them on their leisure time. I guess I'm just wondering about the kids at these schools who actually have two mothers or two fathers? Maybe they might identify with a kid in a book who lives in a family with two moms, or a penguin family that has two dads?
"(They) reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:
“And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
“Gossip Girls” series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
“Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
“The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
“Scary Stories” series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;
“Athletic Shorts” by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language;
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
“Beloved” by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group; and
“The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.
Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain."
I was curious about "And Tango Makes Three" so I checked it out from my local library. This is a true story about two male penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo who "are a little different from the other penguins" (Yes, that's just exactly how the author explains it.) because they fall in love with each other rather than with two other female penguins. They do everything together, however they soon discover they cannot do one thing the other penguin couples can do. Though they make a perfect little nest just like all the other penguins, they cannot produce an egg. Eventually out of desperation, one of them finds an egg shaped rock. Day after day they sit on it, but of course it never hatches because it is only a rock. Finally a sympathetic zookeeper has an idea. When another penguin couple lays two eggs (penguins can only sit on one), he gives the extra to his poor eggless couple. They are very, very careful to take turns sitting on it. When the baby chick finally hatches, the zookeeper names her Tango. The two fathers teach her how to swim and take good care of her. The little family can still be seen at the Central Park Zoo today.
Personally, I love everything about this story from the beautiful illustrations to the tasteful way it is told. Because it's a TRUE tale depicting a compassionate a zookeeper, the ethical value of tolerating differences circumvents the more subtle message that these penguins are homosexual, in my humble opinion. A child who doesn't yet understand how babies are made may not even get why the two penguins are "a little different" or may simply assume they are different because they can't lay an egg. In any case, whether a parent approves or disapproves of the gay lifestyle, I would think any parent would want their child to be kind to an animal who didn't understand.
I wanted to see what the "other side" had to say about it, so I went googling and found this site:
Monday, March 19th, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/yp85he
Scroll down the page and you'll come to an article titled, "A glimpse of our future unless you stand" where they highlight a new UK Government Program that teaches/"normalizes" Homosexuality. Three books are pictured "King and King"-- a modern fairytale about a prince who rejects three princesses, then finally finds a prince to marry; "Spacegirl Pukes" about a girl who has two mothers (I couldn't even find this on Amazon); and "And Tango Makes Three."
Further down we find a plea-- "The Christian Voice advocacy group is calling for parents to act, pledging to identify the schools where the books are in use so they can be pressured to remove them from the curriculum."
Well it's one thing to remove a book from the "curriculum." The word 'curriculum' is key here, because that means the book is forced reading. But a lot of parents think they need to remove these books off library shelves so that others may not read them on their leisure time. I guess I'm just wondering about the kids at these schools who actually have two mothers or two fathers? Maybe they might identify with a kid in a book who lives in a family with two moms, or a penguin family that has two dads?
1 comment:
Well, I've read The Bluest Eye, and Beloved, both by Toni Morrison. I didn't know they were banned. Adult content, yes, but I'm an adult so I figure I can read what I want. Like you, it rubs me the wrong way to have someone making those kinds of decisions for me. Thanks for the list of the top 10, now that I know what it is, I'll make sure I read them all. :)
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