Drag Queen Story Time with Akasha L. Van Cartier and Leia Way LeStat
KST Presents
Saturday, November 7
3:00pm on Youtube with private link from ticket purchase
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Drag Queen Story Time is just what it sounds like—drag queens reading stories to children! KST is thrilled to present a 3 episode short series, Drag Queen Story Time with Pittsburgh’s own twenty-one year drag veteran and pageant winner Akasha L. Van Cartier! Each story time, Akasha will be joined by current reigning Miss P-Town Leia Way LeStat to share two stories along with songs and dances to engage your child. Drag Queen Story Time captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models. In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real. Run time: approx. 20min.
Featured Books on Saturday November 7:
I Am Jazz By Jessica Herthel, and Jazz Jennings, with illustrations by Shelagh McNicholas.
Bedtime Bonnet By Nancy Redd with illustrations by Nneka Myers.
About the Books:
The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for transkids everywhere
“This is an essential tool for parents and teachers to share with children whether those kids identify as trans or not. I wish I had had a book like this when I was a kid struggling with gender identity questions. I found it deeply moving in its simplicity and honesty.”—Laverne Cox (who plays Sophia in “Orange Is the New Black”)
From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl’s brain in a boy’s body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn’t feel like herself in boys’ clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. Jazz’s story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.
This joyous and loving celebration of family is the first-ever picture book to highlight Black nighttime hair traditions–and is perfect for every little girl who knows what it’s like to lose her bonnet just before bedtime.
In my family, when the sun goes down, our hair goes up!
My brother slips a durag over his locs.
Sis swirls her hair in a wrap around her head.
Daddy covers his black waves with a cap.
Mama gathers her corkscrew curls in a scarf.
I always wear a bonnet over my braids, but tonight I can’t find it anywhere!
Bedtime Bonnet gives readers a heartwarming peek into quintessential Black nighttime hair traditions and celebrates the love between all the members of this close-knit, multi-generational family.
Drag Queen Story Time is based on Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) which was created by Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions, under the leadership of Juli Delgado Lopera and Virgie Tovar, in San Francisco in 2015. It started out as drag queens reading stories to children in libraries and grew into a global phenomenon! DQSH now offers literary and creative programming for kids and teens of all ages led by drag queens, kings, and creatures all over the world. DQSH is a global network of local organizations, each of which is independently managed and funded.