Penguins in trouble

"And Tango Makes Three," a children's book about a penguin family with two dads, is again at the top of the list of the American Library Assn.'s most challenged books.

According to an article in the Advocate, the library association considers a book to be "challenged" when there has been a formal written request that "materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.''

The association's director of its Office for Intellectual Freedom, Judith Krug, told the Associated Press: "The complaints are that young children will believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle that is acceptable. The people complaining, of course, don't agree with that.''

This bit of news coincided with a book that arrived at our offices the other day. I can only imagine what opponents of "And Tango Makes Three" will think of Joel Derfner's "Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever," published this month by Broadway Books, if it makes it to their local libraries.

The library association also points out that other books on the challenged list include Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass" and Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

Nick Owchar