The View co-host Joy Behar is launching a new book club focused on titles that have been the targets of challenges and bans, Deadline reports.
Behar announced the beginning of “Joy’s Banned Book Club” on the ABC talk show, revealing that her first selection is And Tango Makes Three, the 2005 children’s book based on the true story of a same-sex penguin couple raising a chick, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole.
The book is one of the most frequently banned titles in American schools and libraries. It has made the American Library Association’s top 10 most-challenged lists nine times in the past 15 years, and was recently banned in a Florida school district, alongside two other LGBTQ+ titles, All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson and When Aidan Became a Brother, written by Kyle Lukoff and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita.
“Book bans have become almost a daily occurrence,” Behar said on the show. “Last school year alone, there were more than 2,500 instances of books being banned in over 5,000 schools, including some of the best books ever written, like To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Catcher in the Rye. Even children’s books are under fire.”
After announcing the inaugural selection, Behar said, “This is not some kinky Fifty Shades of Grey for penguins, OK? It’s a sweet, graceful way to introduce children to the concept of acceptance of same-sex relationships and nontraditional families.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
