Roy and Silo weren't like the other penguins at the Central Park Zoo. The two males paired off and raised a hatchling chick, becoming a same-sex penguin family and media darlings. Justin Richardson, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia and Cornell, collaborated with playwright Peter Parnell, his partner, and illustrator Henry Cole to put together a children's book about the animals' story, And Tango Makes Three ($15, ages 4–8).
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How did you first hear about this story?
It was over breakfast on a Saturday morning. I came across this story in the New York Times, and since we only had one copy, I read it to Peter. And it just sounded like a children's book with these sweet, adorable characters wanting something so badly.
What was your aim in writing this book?
We very much wanted to write a book that treated the subject of same-sex couples that kids will adore. Tango is so cuddly. We're hoping kids will love it and beg their parents to read it again and again, since children are bumping into children from these same-sex families at school and at birthday parties. This [book] makes it comfortable for parents to talk about these families.
Why has it been uncomfortable for parents?
Many feel it's inappropriate to talk about homosexuality because they think they're talking about sex. This book is specifically not about sex. A 4-year-old doesn't have the same associations between homosexuality and sex. They take things very literally. You can just tell them sometimes a man falls in love with another man and they start a family. That's all you need to say.
Even so, there's a strong chance of setting off a controversy.
We're hoping there won't be much of a firestorm. This isn't a piece of policy. It's a book parents can buy or not buy. The one thing on our side is that this is a story that happened. It's told without editorializing. We were careful not to anthropomorphize or put thoughts into the penguins' heads. No one will be able to say this isn't true. And the truth of the story will melt many hearts. It's tough to look at this adorable family and think it would be wrong to tell a child about them.
What are the chances of a political impact?
If there will be a political impact, it will be in gay and lesbian households, where this is all terribly old news. Those children will see a character like them, and you could consider that a political effect—they'll be included in the mainstream.
Have you been visiting Roy, Silo, and Tango?
All penguins look exactly alike. The only way to tell them apart is the armbands. Roy lies on his tummy after eating, but other than that it's hard to know who's who.
Did you learn anything about penguins that surprised you?
One of the fascinating things about penguins is that they share parenting responsibilities fifty-fifty—they switch off. The males know how to take care of an egg, and the females know how to get food for their mate. So males know how to do both tasks.
