Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s 2005 book is the story of Ray and Silo, two male “chinstrap penguins” living in New York’s Central Park Zoo whose longtime companionship was noted by zookeepers.  When the two penguins were observed attempting to hatch a rock that resembled an egg, zookeepers successfully introduced an actual egg from another penguin couple who were unable to hatch theirs.  When the chick, Tango, was born after their several weeks of care, Ray and Silo raised her for two-and-a-half  months until she could survive on her own.

The book’s interesting story and pictures are enjoyable enough on their own terms, but the especially great part (for previously uninformed readers like myself) comes in an afterword where the authors confirm that this is indeed a true story.  As the New York Times reported, this “love that dare not squeak its name” between the two inseparable penguins is a fairly common phenomenon according to zookeepers and biologists.

 According to concerned folks in Illinois, Virginia, and North Carolina, among other places, the book’s controversial celebration of diverse families means access to it in libraries should be restricted.  Some libraries have moved it to the non-fiction section in an attempt to avoid controversy, and other school districs have removed it from the shelves altogether. 

Co-author Parnell reports that at a book signing at BookExpo America a few years ago, many librarians waiting in line told him, “I love your book, but I could never buy it for our library.”

A memo from school administrators in North Carolina explained their reasons for banning it from the district:

“First, it is a picture book that focuses on homosexuality. Second, we did not feel that such information was vital to primary students. Next, we did not believe the book would stimulate growth in ethical standards, and the book is too controversial.”

The ALA’s “Most Frequently Challenged Books” list features other titles for which objections were raised due to “homosexual themes,” while separate categories of offense include “occult/satanism” (the Scary Stories series), “offensive language/sexually explicit” (The Kite Runner), and “political/religious viewpoint” (Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, showing up at #2 on last year’s list).

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom reported 513 book challenges across the country in 2008.  With the threat of rampaging gay penguins on the rise thanks to global warming, 2009 could well be another challenging year for those infamously hedonistic radicals, Ray and Silo.