GALLERY: Drag Queen Story Hour brings themes of acceptance to children

By Kendall Tamer and Katharine Swindells
BU News Service

Trident Booksellers & Cafe hosted “Drag Queen Story Hour” Saturday in their second floor children’s section. Photo by Kendall Tamer / BU News Service
Drag Queen, “Kirbie Fully Loaded,” led the kids in a stretch at Drag Queen Story Hour Saturday. Photo by Kendall Tamer / BU News Service
Kirbie greeted the children as she introduced the first book Saturday at Drag Queen Story Hour. Photo by Kendall Tamer / BU News Service
A curious child point at one of the books being read for Drag Queen Story Hour Saturday at Trident Booksellers & Cafe. Photo by Kendall Tamer / BU News Service
Kirbie told the kids that everyone is different as she read to them Saturday at Drag Queen Story Hour. Photo by Kendall Tamer / BU News Service
The second book that Kirbie read at Drag Queen Story Hour Saturday was based on a real story about two penguins at a New York zoo. Photo by Kendall Tamer / BU News Service
Kirbie read a story about two penguin dads at Drag Queen Story Hour Saturday. Photo by Kendall Tamer / BU News Service

Young families gathered at Trident Booksellers in Back Bay Saturday morning for a wholesome book-reading event. But with a twist.

The books were read by Kirbie Fully Loaded, one of the drag queens involved in the global phenomenon that is Drag Queen Story Hour.

Parents watched as a crowd of young children gathered around Kirbie while she read picture books with themes of LGBT+ families and acceptance.

Kirbie is a social worker by day and performs at gay nightclubs across the city by night, she said. She had been performing until 3 a.m. the night before and woke early to reapply her stage makeup and come to the reading.

She said she has been doing drag performance for two years and is a regular at Story Hour.

“It combines my two loves,” she said. “Children and drag.”