The View host Joy Behar will read banned kids book on show each week

Joy Behar’s latest stunt has her reading a banned children’s book on The View every week — even though the show’s target audience is middle-aged women.

Behar, 80, begins next week with And Tango Makes Three, based on the true story of a same-sex penguin couple who adopted a chick at New York’s Central Park Zoo.

In “Joys Banned Book Club,” the host will focus on the sweeping book bans that have hit American schools in recent months, primarily in conservative states.

But it’s unclear whether fans of The View will enjoy having to peruse a children’s book, with the show aimed squarely at adult women — rather than youth.

The host of View chose the 2005 book ‘And Tango Makes Three’ as the first reading. It tells the true story of a gay penguin couple living in Central Park Zoo who adopted a baby chick

Behar, who recently made actor Liam Neeson squirm on The View by sharing her lust for him, said, “This isn’t kinky Shades of Gray for penguins.

“It’s a sweet, graceful way to introduce kids to the concept of acceptance of same-sex relationships and non-traditional families.”

Announcing her new segment, Behar said her lectures are a form of protest against the more than 2,500 books that have been banned across the country.

More than 5,000 schools across America banned books last year, Behar said, including “some of the greatest books ever written” such as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Of Mice and Men” and “The Catcher in the Rye.”

“Someone can decide they don’t want to read a book,” she continued.

“Someone can decide that he doesn’t want his child to read a book. But a person cannot decide that an entire school or city cannot read a book.

“As for And Tango Makes Three, it’s up to our studio audience to decide, because you all get a copy.”

Florida’s Escambia County banned And Tango Makes Three after it was ruled that its depiction of a same-sex penguin couple was inappropriate for children.

Thousands of books are currently under review by Florida public school officials for content deemed controversial by Ron DeSantis

The book won multiple awards upon its publication in 2005 and was quickly heralded as an instant classic.

Book bans more often targeted novels written for older children or young adults.

One of the most notorious is Gender Queer, a graphic novel depicting a transgender teenage boy giving oral sex lessons using a strap-on penis.

Some proponents of the book prohibit the removal of Gender Queer and other highly explicit books from libraries, while opposing other removals.

Books widely regarded as classics, including To Kill A Mockingbird and Toni Morrison’s Beloved, also violate the bans, prompting some conservatives to say the rules have gone too far.

The officials followed the lead of Governor Ron DeSantis, who has vowed to crack down on “woke” literature in schools.

Last month, the potential candidate for 2024 went ahead with his initiative, putting thousands of books on the chopping block.

Thousands of books are now being reviewed in the sun after being deemed controversial by DeSantis.

Officials say more than 100 titles, including picture books like The Berenstain Bears and biographies of black and Hispanic historical figures, have already been withdrawn in parts of the state.

The books are graded based on several state laws that restrict classroom topics related to race, gender, and sexual orientation.

Laws that could spell the end for the books in classrooms include DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Act and the Parental Rights in Education Act – dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” Act by opponents.