Chinstrap Penguins and Families

I love the chinstrap penguins  (Pygoscelis antarctica). I took this photo at one of the weather stations in Antarctica.

I love how the black chin line makes them look like they are smiling all the time. And the strut! They look like they don’t have a care in the world, even though sea lions weren’t that far away.

I also wanted to share this photo because I recently read the children’s book And Tango Makes Three. It is the story of two male penguins in NYC Central Zoo who worked together to hatch an egg. It’s a cute story so I was surprised that is was the number one challenged book in the US (2006-2008). According to the National Coalition against censorship,

 …those who have challenged teh book cited the following offenses: “anti-family”, “homosexuality”, religious viewpoint”, unsited to age group”, and inexplicably, “anti-ethnic”.

The fact that the country’s most-challenged book is devoid of violence, profanity, and any mention of sex or sexuality demonstrates the subjective nature of the interpretations people make before challenging books.

I don’t know what to say about the censorship. I live in a part of the world where gay marriage has been legal for almost ten years and most of my students (high school and university) assume that same sex partners are no big deal. But if you want to read this book to your kids and are nervous, there is some guidelines in this Teaching Children Philosophy post.

I have no idea what family relationships are happening in the penguins in my photo. I just think they are cute with a fierce attitude.