Happy Pride, everyone! Fun fact: Pride doesn’t happen the same time around the world. In my city in Canada, it’s in July, and it’s different between cities. That means that with careful planning and travel money, you could hit a bunch of Canadian Pride parades one after the other! I like to think of June as online Pride and July as in-person Pride. June is also my birthday month, which is only right.
This Pride month, support the organizations working to make the world better for the most marginalized 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Today, I wanted to highlight the Trans Lifeline, a crisis hotline for trans people that also gives microgrants to help trans people change legal documentation to reflect their gender. You can find out more at their website, and you can help out at their donation page.
Take Drag Queen Storytime Home with These Drag Picture Books
Recently, there have been several different picture books about drag that have been published, which is great to see! Drag Queen Story Hour, which started in 2015, has been hugely successful. Kids love the theatricality of the drag personas, and drag queens are performers who know how to keep an audience interested. They also usually read books about acceptance and being true to yourself.
You might not always be able to attend a Drag Queen Story Hour event in person, but now there are some picture books about drag to read with the little ones in your life any time! Pride is a perfect time to pick these up, especially if you’re attending a Pride parade with your kids, where there’s usually drag performers.
My only complaint here is that I’d like to see more authors and illustrators of color in this niche, especially since drag is an art form that owes a lot of credit to Black and people of color performers for where it is today.
The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish by Lil Miss Hot Mess, illustrated by Olga de Dios Ruiz
Let’s start off with this picture book that can be read to the same tune as “The Wheels On the Bus” and follows a drag queen performing for an enthusiastic audience. The rhythm of this one makes it a perfect pick for younger kids, who will also love the rainbows and bright illustrations. The same team also put out If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It. (And hey, while you’re here, click through to the Amazon page and mark the positive reviews as “helpful.” Right now, reviews accusing this of being child abuse are at the top.)
The Sublime Ms. Stacks by Robb Pearlman and illustrated by Dani Jones
This is described as “Miss Nelson is Missing meets Drag Race“! One day, instead of the school librarian Mr. Stephen, Ms. Stacks shows up to the library! The kids love her fabulous take on storytime, but they just wish Mr. Stephen was around to meet her…
Miss Rita, Mystery Reader by Kristen Wixted and Sam Donovan, illustrated by Violet Tobacco
This story not only stars a drag queen dad, but also a non-binary kid! Tori is excited for their classmates to meet their dad’s drag alter ego, Miss Rita, but is a little nervous, too. Together, though, they find a solution: Tori will be Miss Rita’s drag assistant!
Big Wig by Jonathan Hillman and illustrated by Levi Hastings
This story is about a kids’ drag competition, and it actually follows the wig of one of the competitors! Big Wig feels intimidated by all the much bigger wigs on the other queens and runs away. But as she travels from head to head of different kids, she gives them the confidence to pursue their dreams. This one is all about the power that can come with putting on a costume.
I went back and forth about whether to include Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love on this list, since it doesn’t actually use the word drag, but there is a lot of overlap, so be sure to check that one out, too!
All the Links Fit to Click
- The leads for Amazon’s movie adaptation of Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston have been announced!
- The Best LGBTQ+ Comics Coming Out This Pride Month
- Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’ Shows Why Book Bans Are Futile
- Answers in the Pages by David Levithan was reviewed at The Los Angeles Blade, calling it a “timely read for middle schoolers about book banning.”
LGBTQ Book Riot Posts
- Your Curated Queer TBR for Pride & Beyond
- 12 Of The Best Sapphic Romances To Read
- 28 Must-Read Queer Literary Fiction Books
- 9 LGBTQIA+ Magical Realism and Fabulism Books To Read Right Now
- A Pride Reading Starter Kit: 10 Queer History Books To Read This Pride
New Releases This Week
Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour (Sapphic Fiction)
This is the adult debut from the author of acclaimed YA books like We Are Okay and Everything Leads To You. It’s a beautifully written literary fiction title following two women falling in love while struggling to shoulder the baggage they each bring to the relationship. I’ve only read the first chapter of this so far, but I’m already completely immersed in the writing and can’t wait to have my heart broken by this story.
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson (Sapphic Fantasy)
This has been one of my most-anticipated releases from back when I just knew the title and the vague premise of a queer book about a coven of witches. Then the cover came out, and my interest only increased. This is the first in a trilogy following a group of witches who pick very different paths with these powers, including running Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, starting a new inclusive coven, or hiding their magic entirely. It’s also a story about fighting transphobia, particularly spotlighting the rise of transphobia in the UK.
Kings of B’More by R. Eric Thomas (Queer YA Contemporary)
Harrison and Linus are two queer Black teenage boys who are best friends, and Harrison has big plans for their summer together before college. Then Linus breaks the news that he’s moving out of the state at the end of the week. But Harrison isn’t going to give up that easily, so he decides that they will pack in a summer’s worth of activities into one day, including a mini road trip to go to their first Pride.
Boys Come First by Aaron Foley (Gay Fiction)
Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez (Queer Fiction) (Paperback Rerelease)
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Just By Looking At Him by Ryan O’Connell (Gay Fiction)
Beyond Any Experience by Anne E. Terpstra (Sapphic Fiction)
Rainbow Rainbow by Lydia Conklin (Queer and Trans Short Stories)
Bury Me When I’m Dead (The Charlie Mack Motown Mystery Series #1) by Cheryl A. Head (Sapphic Mystery) (Audiobook Rerelease)
Renovated to Death (A Domestic Partners in Crime Mystery #1) by Frank Anthony Polito (M/M Cozy Mystery)
The Book of Queer Saints: Horror Anthology edited by Mae Murray (Queer Horror Anthology)
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All Signs Point to Yes edited by g. haron davis, Cam Montgomery, and Adrianne White (Aromantic Story in YA Anthology of Love Stories)
Flip the Script by Lyla Lee (Bisexual F/F YA Contemporary)
Summer’s Edge by Dana Mele (Bisexual and Lesbian YA Paranormal Thriller)
Out of the Blue by Jason June (M/M YA Fantasy)
Deep in Providence by Riss M. Neilson (Lesbian YA Fantasy)
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Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches by Kate Scelsa (F/F YA Fantasy)
Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper (Gay Middle Grade)
Loving the YOU That You Are by Kristin Blomberg and Saoirse Lou (LGBTQ Picture Book)
The Rainbow Parade by Emily Neilson (Two Moms Pride Picture Book)
100 Queer Poems edited by Mary Jean Chan and Andrew McMillan (Queer Poetry) (UK Release)
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Antiman: A Hybrid Memoir by Rajiv Mohabir Queer Memoir (Audiobook Rerelease)
Sex Is as Sex Does: Governing Transgender Identity by Paisley Currah (Trans Nonfiction)
By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Manga & Anime by Erica Friedman (Nonfiction)
Gay Bar: Why We Went Out by Jeremy Atherton Lin (Gay Nonfiction) (Paperback Rerelease)
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my bi and lesbian book blog, the Lesbrary, as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.
Happy reading!
Danika