First Drag Queen Storytime for Kid Pride

This weekend, when San Francisco's Castro neighborhood is all decked out in its gay pride rainbow glory, it might not be the most kid-friendly place in the city. But staff at the local Books Inc. have noticed that the store has become increasingly kid friendly as more same-sex couples have families, and so they decided to host the first "Kid Pride" storytime event, featuring a local drag queen.

Celebrating Kid Pride: Books Inc. manager Ken White, Mutha Chucka and Maggie Tokuda-Hall, children's department director.

The trick, explained store manager Ken White, was finding a drag queen willing to show up at 11 a.m. on a Saturday. Mutha Chucka (real name: Chuck Gutro) was actually an hour early for the event, held last Saturday, and showed up in full makeup and a rainbow dress--and fairy wings.

Before she started reading to the children, she answered a curious boy's question about her attire by explaining, "Next week a bunch of people like me are going to have a party and celebrate that we get to do whatever we want, and there is a flag that goes along with that that is all the colors of the rainbow."

And then Mutha started the reading with Mo Willems's That Is NOT a Good Idea! and A Big Guy Took My Ball! and wrapping it up with And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell.

"That's one of the most banned books in the country right now," said Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Books Inc.'s children's department director, who came up with the idea for the Kid Pride event while talking with a co-worker. And Tango Makes Three is about two boy penguins who want a child so much that they try to hatch a rock, until the zookeeper replaces it with an egg that needs loving. Tukoda-Hll said that she purposely requested that Mutha not read only books designed to drive the gay pride message home to the children. What kids really want is a good story, she explained.

Earlier in the month, Books Inc. hosted a dramatic reading of And Tango Makes Three (which based on a true story) with the New Conservatory Theater to help the arts organization raise money and awareness together.

Last Saturday the kids simply came out for storytime to have a good time, and Mutha--who said she would be happy to return for "Mutha's Day" any time Books Inc. asked--happily entertained them. Tukoda-Hall called the event a complete success and said she has already heard from other booksellers across the country who want to borrow the drag queen Kid Pride storytime idea.  Self-Awareness