In this edition of our 5×5 series, we’re talking to five drag performers who work with the organization Drag Story Hour, a nonprofit that seeks to bring communities together through reading. Since the organization was founded in 2015, the drag performers of DSH have been sharing their abilities and talents with local and global communities through community events that center around sharing diverse and affirming literature, songs, and activities. These events encourage an early love of literacy in emerging readers, provide visibility for marginalized identities, and spread a message of acceptance and authenticity to readers of all ages. Let’s learn more about five of these artists, their experiences, and the importance of fostering supportive spaces for young minds.
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to homophobia, transphobia, and bigotry. Please exercise self-care while reading.
The Performers
Felicia “Fefe” Minor
Felicia Minor is a vibrant and talented drag queen, entertainer, co-host, producer, and social media guru. Her passion for entertaining began in 2007 and was unleashed in 2009 with her husband’s support. She has won various titles and awards, including Miss Gay Supernova USofA Newcomer 2011, and the Fascinations Best Drag Queen honor at Raven Events’ Annual Red Light District Costume Ball. In addition to her incredible talent on stage, Felicia also co-hosts and produces the popular YouTube show Let’s Have a Fefe with Arizona’s Most Decorated King, Freddy Prinze Charming.
Felicia’s commitment to giving back to her community is another aspect of her inspiring character. She has raised funds for non-profit and community organizations, including raising more than $5,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also been featured as the official billboard diva for the LGBTQ Consortium and participated in RipplePHX’s Ripple Briefs campaign. Felicia has participated in “Jail & Bail” with the local March of Dimes chapter and is always eager to do more to make a positive impact on the world. When she’s not entertaining, Felicia loves spending time with her husband, family, friends, and pets. Her favorite color is pink, and she was born and raised in Southern California. She now resides in the Phoenix metro area.
Lady Shug
Lady Shug is a proud Indigenous drag artist, born for the Diné (Navajo) Nation, raised in the Four Corners area of New Mexico. Lady Shug has been entertaining audiences for over 10+ years, beginning her career with nightly performances on the Las Vegas Strip. Recently, Lady Shug felt called to return home to the Navajo Reservation and now lives along the Arizona-New Mexico border. As a community activist, Lady Shug works with grassroots collectives to fight for equal rights for her 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous relatives living in rural areas and on reservations that have long denied them equal treatment. Lady Shug uses her platform to connect her passions for drag and activism to raise awareness and stand in solidarity with social movements.
In and out of drag, Shug uses both voices to challenge and make change for inclusion, acceptance, decolonization — always within the frame of indigenous resistance. Shug worked alongside many grassroots groups, helping with indigenous resistance — a particular stand-out being the Taala Hooghan Infoshop in Flagstaff, AZ, where Shug then gained the skills necessary to organize in the Four Corners area — and from this work, the #ShugChallenge was born. The #ShugChallenge is a mutual aid program that supports the border towns and communities within and alongside their reservation — relatives and folks who are forgotten in the main spectrum of living can find services and support through the #ShugChallenge.
She was the first drag artist to host a pop-up powwow in Bentonville, AR, with Live in America. Lady Shug was recently featured in the Emmy-winning HBO series We’re Here. Currently, Lady Shug is touring the US & international territories with Landa Lakes on the all-Indigenous #LaLaLandBackTour.
(Editor’s note: Lady Shug’s answers were given via recorded video chat and transcribed to text.)
Lil Miss Hot Mess
Lil Miss Hot Mess is the author of the children’s books Make Your Own Rainbow: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Color, If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It, and The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish, and has written essays for HuffPost, Slate, and Wired. She serves on the board of Drag Story Hour and has appeared on world-class stages like SFMOMA, Stanford University, and Saturday Night Live.
Per Sia
With a pedigree from weekly performances at the late, iconic Esta Noche, Per Sia’s trajectory has gone on to include art curation, stand-up, television, and maybe a quinceañera or two, in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and México. Currently, she is a regular performer in the nationally acclaimed Drag Story Hour as well as an educator in residence at an after-school arts program in the San Francisco Unified School District, profiled on KQED Arts, National Public Radio, and CNN.
Stormie Daie
Stormie Daie is a black non-binary femme southerner from Durham, NC. Daie has worked a decade in drag as an entertainer, emcee, and show producer. Daie strives to provide joy for community by creating safe space and uplifting the works and talents of black, queer, and trans peoples. Daie has a background in Environmental and Ecological Science, which she utilizes in her in-person and online series, “Science with Stormie,” where she explores how “Everything is Science and Science is Everything!”
Not only is Daie a science educator, but they work directly with Drag Story Hour Nationals to be the local story reading ambassador for their local Drag Story Hour Chapter, DSH Triangle. Daie also is an amateur LGBTQ and NC historian and teaches about the history of Drag and queer activism. Daie is a joy-monger and works effortlessly in her heels, frocks, and fabulousness to educate whilst entertaining and uplifting queer community through an intersectional and creative lens on and off the stage.
The Interview
1. As a drag performer, what drew you to working with Drag Story Hour and performing storytimes for young audiences?
Felicia: As a drag performer, I do what I do to bring folks joy and being able to find the happiness in life again — even if it is just for a moment. They carry that moment with them. Now, what drew me to Drag Story Hour and performing at local story hours was representation, promoting literacy, and using my imagination. First, being a person of color, I didn’t see a lot of performers or entertainers who looked like me. Being visible to those like me and even those not like me has a big impact.
DSH is such a fun and creative way to get children excited about reading while learning about many different perspectives — the kid with two moms/dads, being non-binary, history of the Stonewall Inn, history behind the Civil Rights movement, and so much more.
Lady Shug: Well, officially, I kind of got picked up with Story Hour when we were on lockdown during the pandemic. I never thought I would be doing Story Hour, because I was never one to speak in front of people, much less read in front of folks, especially my peers and young folks. It triggered a lot of…
A thing that happened to me when I was younger: I used to love to read, my mom would always enforce books into my life, so reading was very crucial growing up. But it was one of my teachers who kind of forced me to read in front of a classroom — I mean, forced me where I was, like, in tears. And I think the teacher at the time was kind of picking me because I was different, so I was consistently being picked on to read in front of the class, so a lot of times when I have to read something, especially when it’s not in my context, or where I could understand it, I get really nervous. So that’s why I thought I would never do something like Drag Story Hour.
But I fell in love with the company, because during the pandemic it gave me a voice and also a job to do drag. So I never saw myself doing this, but once I kind of got my footing and I felt comfortable? Now, when I read a story in front of children or young adults or even my own peers, if I do mess up, it’s okay. And I let them know, I let the listeners know, it’s okay if you don’t get it right the first time — or the second time! — or if you mispronounce a name. We’re all flawed, but we’re all perfect in our own way, so it’s okay. I feel like a lot of the time, when people read stuff, you have to make sure you know the grammar, the language, you know? And so, I think me being different or kind of having that trauma, it kind of encourages other people that it’s okay to mess up, or not be able to read eloquently, or to read perfectly.
But Story Hour has been a really good company that I just like working with because they are always one to be inclusive, especially of my identity of being an Indigenous person. You don’t really see many Indigenous people in the forefront of any organization, and with Story Hour, they gave me that platform to become that person.
Lil Miss Hot Mess: In earlier moments of my life, I’ve had the joy of working with kids and youth in a variety of contexts — as a babysitter, summer camp counselor, and Hebrew school teacher — often focusing on the arts. And prior to Drag Story Hour, there were a couple of opportunities where I got to perform in drag for children, including at an organization supporting trans youth and a fashion show at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, organized by my friend Fauxnique, where kids got to decorate outfits for drag queens. In those moments, it was always exciting to get to witness and collaborate with kids in their brilliant creativity. When Drag Story Hour launched — by friends of mine in San Francisco, which I had just moved away from — I was so excited, and knew that I wanted to be part of it!
Since then, it’s been incredible to discover more and more affinities between drag performers and kids. For starters, it’s helped me think about drag as a form of imaginative play! And especially to think about play as not just fun, but really essential to creative and political expression: in the case of drag, we dress-up to be our boldest and brightest selves, to literally turn our fantasy into a reality, and envision and enact a more just and fabulous world!
Per Sia: I’ve worked with youth for most of my life — even during my own youth — as an educator. But it wasn’t until December 2015, when I was invited to participate in Drag Queen Story Hour (now Drag Story Hour), that my work in education and my drag practice came together. For a long time, I kept those two parts of my life separate, but that moment marked a meaningful shift in how I show up for my community.
Stormie: In many ways, I both fell into it and have been working with kids since I was a kid. The first time I read was while hosting Alamance Pride, and we had a joint effort with Alamance Partnership for Children, a local community group. So when Story Hour formed, I was naturally interested and eager to read books. But in my undergrad, I tutored for America Reads, and I used my degree in Environmental and Ecological Science to work with young people here in NC. I love sharing my interests with children; culture is created by sharing interests and passing along knowledge, which is the foundation for making a community. When you share interests and enjoy shared experiences, you create a world of care that leads to change.
2. What benefits do you feel drag storytimes offer children and their families that can’t be found in other reading and literacy programs?
Felicia: The benefits that I feel drag story hours offer to children and their families that can’t be found in other programs are a fabulous drag queen, diverse and inclusive stories of different perspectives, and joy in finding a community with folks like them. I have been at many story hours where parents are just overjoyed that their children can express themselves, and they can find parents who are experiencing something similar, if not the same thing. It’s a safe space.
Lady Shug: I feel like the benefits are… one, the main thing is, we all come in love and respect, and once you can come in an atmosphere like Drag Story Hour or Indigenous Story Hour, we all come together as family, even if we have different ethnicities or races or orientations or views. This is the time when we kind of leave all that labeling behind the doors when we walk in. It’s just all about positivity, creativity, and, of course, fabulousness. Who does not want to go see a Drag Story Hour and see something glitzy and glamorous? I feel like it’s a time where you can be yourself.
And Story Hour is not just geared towards our young folks and young adults, it’s also geared to our elderly and geared to people my age, because I tell them, we’re always a kid at heart. So this is a time to let your boundaries down and be like, “Remember that you used to be a little kid that used to love to be read to or who loved to read books.” So I think, me personally, once I kind of let that down and kind of get in that mindset, that we’re all kids at heart — whether you’re 90 years old or you’re one year old — everybody loves to be read to and share stories and sing songs. It’s just a time to kind of escape from reality and go into a place where you feel safe, you feel loved, and you feel accepted.
Lil Miss Hot Mess: Drag is such a powerful art form with a rich historical legacy of questioning societal norms, and that is a form of cultural work. I think many people assume the benefits are solely in challenging gender stereotypes and offering queer role models — which are true, and very important — but I think the impact is deeper, especially if one reads between the lines a bit (which is what drag often teaches us to do!).
In addition to being a drag performer and storyteller, I’m also a professor, and along with my friend Harper Keenan, I’ve written a number of articles about what drag story hours can teach children (of all ages). Here are just a few examples: First, drag teaches about the importance of aesthetics; drag performers are exaggerated, larger-than-life, and our bright colors and bling delight the senses and command attention not through conflict or controversy, but through excitement and desire. Second, we often use humor to address difficult subjects like stigma and shame, and poke fun at society as a whole rather than “punch down” on individuals. Third, we show that there are many different ways to be oneself and to build families and communities of care and connection.
Per Sia: Over the past decade of leading Story Hour — and especially amid the growing wave of anti-trans and anti-drag sentiment in this country — I’ve taken time for deep reflection. I’ve come to understand that this program offers more than just stories; it creates a space where children and adults alike can exhale, imagine freely, and step into a world shaped by creativity, love, self-expression, and radical acceptance.
Story Hour invites us all to think beyond the boundaries of convention, to envision new possibilities, and to celebrate the beauty of difference. For performers like myself, it also becomes a site of healing — a powerful act of reclaiming the joy, visibility, and authenticity we were once denied.
Stormie: Drag Story Hour creates a space that is both educational and entertaining, which makes it interesting and inviting, and through this Story hour and our families make a safe space for us to gather and be a community. Though we work in the same spaces that we often live in, we don’t often have places to share time with each other. We are a community, but like a relationship, we have to work at creating time to share space. We don’t just read, we make a palace to gather and share joy. We do this through reading stories about diverse experiences and queer histories, but through that we make a place where queer families can meet. A commons to share with each other and see diverse experiences in person.
3. Is there a book or song that you’re always especially excited to share with young audiences? Which one(s), and why?
Felicia: I recently got excited about the Roly Poly song. My youngest one would come home doing the rolling motion with her arm over arm motion, and I couldn’t figure out what she was singing or doing. I thought it was patty cake, “roll up it, mark with a B, and put it in the oven.” But that wasn’t it. Then, at the story hour, I learned the roly-poly song, and the light bulb turned on! I was so excited! It was like learning what she was saying for the first time. When it came time to do the song, she lit up! She sang along and still asks me to sing the song with her. It’s a moment I’ll treasure forever.
Lady Shug: So with Indigenous Story Hour, we became the founders, me and Landa Lakes. She’s Chickasaw, and we’re now officially the founders of Indigenous Story Hour, which is a chapter under Drag Story Hour. So for me, a lot of times, a lot of these books that I read, I tend to — and her as well, we tend to — put a spin on them, and maybe insert a word, like maybe “horse,” and I teach the young relatives in the audience how to say horse in my language, and Landa teaches them how to say it in Chickasaw. So we’re kind of intertwining our language into these books that technically don’t have our language, or we’re teaching our language to other, non-Indigenous people.
I think that’s one of the most exciting and liberating things for me to do, because it’s kind of like another form of decolonizing these books. As far as my favorite books are concerned, I like anything that is gender-neutral or any of my Indigenous artists. I can’t just pick one! But if they’re of Indigenous descent or First Nations, it’s kind of the ones I like the most, because those are my stories. So I like to see that. There’s one book that Landa reads that’s from her actual tribe, and it teaches them the different verbage of each animal, which is kind of cool. I think that’s the biggest thing for me is how we can intertwine our language and our stories into regular storytime.
Lil Miss Hot Mess: Well, as an author myself, I wouldn’t be a good drag queen if I didn’t do a bit of self-promotion! Since working with Drag Story Hour, I’ve had the pleasure of publishing three picture books, which come directly out of this work. My latest is Make Your Own Rainbow: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Color, and teaches kids about names of colors beyond the standard ROYGBIV and the beauty of mixing and matching all the different hues (it’s basically for kids, like me, who were fascinated by the biggest boxes of crayons we could find!).
My other two are both sing-along books, adapted from popular children’s music, which started as songs I’d sing with kids at events — If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It and The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish — and teach kids about some of the traits that make drag performers so special. All three books are illustrated by the immensely talented Olga de Dios, who really brings these drag characters to life!
Per Sia: One of my favorite books to read during Drag Story Hour is Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder. It’s more than just a children’s book — it’s a bold and joyful protest wrapped in vibrant illustrations. Reading it aloud is a way to reclaim the message that every body is worthy and yes — cool. I love turning it into a call-and-response moment: I ask, “Bodies are what?” and the audience proudly responds, “Cool!” It never fails to create a heartfelt and affirming connection.
My favorite lip sync number? Katy Perry’s “Firework” — but only the first line: “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?” The song loops that line for two and a half minutes. Around the halfway mark, I dramatically reveal two oversized compostable bags and twirl through the space like a biodegradable ballerina, encouraging everyone to sing along. It’s ridiculous, theatrical, eco-conscious, and surprisingly moving — a perfect reflection of Drag Story Hour’s magic.
Stormie: One of the first books, Julián is a Mermaid, was one of the earliest books that Story Hour introduced me to. Since my entry into the work I have read other books written by black and queer families, like My Rainbow or You Need to Chill, which bring sincere experiences of LGBTQ peoples into a format that can be shared with kids and family and in a way that honestly represents kids that are dealing with being trans or wanting to be seen and heard.
4. Drag Story Hour and other drag storytimes have faced protests, legal attacks, and even threats of violence from detractors. How do you push through these challenges to keep bringing DSH’s message to the kids who need it?
Felicia: This was the hardest question for me to answer. Not because I am not sure how to answer it, but because I feel like I once walked with a target on my back. I experienced a little bit of hate toward me, and seeing fellow storytellers experience crude acts made it difficult. It made to hard to accept that fellow human beings were walking in hate and not love — especially when claiming religious beliefs.
Now, what keeps me going is being able to bring folks joy and doing in a way that is helping promote literacy, education, and living your life authentically. To be able to do this, open a door for a younger person like me and their families, and hold it open as they walk through.
Lady Shug: I think… You know, there were a few events where there were protestors at the beginning of my being with DSH. I was aware that there were protestors, and I just kind of walked through them and tried to treat them like other human beings. I never treated them any other way than I would treat another person. I don’t know if that’s who I am as a person or who I am as an Indigenous person; I think these people are trying to do this because they think that we’re the most vulnerable, but they don’t realize that drag is the most powerful way of resistance. And so, they’re picking on the wrong people, because in history, drag has always been a form of resistance.
So I think that for our children, our folks that, for Story Hour, we need to just continue to be present, to just have existence, and show them that everyone might not agree with what you say or how you feel or how you see things, but you, standing there as a person, is power, to never let anybody tell you what to do, tell you how to feel, tell you how to act. I always tell my young folks, teens, or adults, I tell people that nobody can take away your existence. Like, no one can physically go and take away who you are, who you want to love, what you like, how you act, nobody can physically take your existence away. And I say, remember this: your existence is the strongest part of resistance.
So I let people sit with that, because it took a while; me, just sitting here or holding a room, that’s existing and being proud of who I am, that’s the power of resistance. So I don’t want to say that our protestors or our backlash that we get for DSH, I don’t want to paint them as the bad guys, because of how they view us; they are our relatives, too. That’s the bottom line. They might not agree with us, and I hope that one day they will figure out that we’re not evil. We’re just trying to bring back love and acceptance through drag and through books.
Lil Miss Hot Mess: Thankfully, I have been blessed with thick skin — and drag also offers additional armor that gives me added confidence and courage. I know that we’re doing good work to make the world a better place. Our detractors like to falsely claim that we’re “indoctrinating” children, when it’s the opposite: we are encouraging children to think for themselves! In fact, they’re the ones who want us all to conform to their ideas of how the world should be, which, not surprisingly, always benefits themselves at everyone else’s expense.
The reality is that I’ve faced a lot of hatred — including, most recently, from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called me some incredibly offensive names. But what gives me strength to fight back is the reminder that drag performers, and LGBTQ+ people more broadly, have faced bigger monsters throughout history, and we’ve won out by being our authentic selves and playfully standing up for what we believe in. And honestly, anyone who tries picking a fight with a drag queen should know by now what a fool’s errand that is!
Per Sia: I love what I do — and I say it often, with my whole heart: I am the luckiest drag queen in the world because I get to do everything I love, and so can you. Who I am is trans. What I do is drag. But I am also an educator, a storyteller, and a dreamer who refuses to dim.
By day, I guide first graders through art and imagination as a lead teacher in an after-school arts program. By night, I light up stages, hosting for the big kids, aka the adults. And in between, there’s Drag Story Hour: the magical place where my love for the classroom meets my love for the stage, where glitter and literacy dance hand in hand.
Despite the noise of hatred that echoes louder these days, I stand rooted in something deeper. My love, my joy, my purpose — they are louder. Brighter. Unshakeable. And I will not stop.
Stormie: You do drag. It is a catch-22, but though drag sometimes brings slings and arrows in our lives as readers, drag is why I get up and continue to work as a reader. The opportunity to spread joy and educate families on not only the stories out there that can be shared, but it also provides a chance to see and exhibit the community we often don’t realize surrounds us and brings us together.
5. Is there a particularly joyful or meaningful interaction you’ve had with a young attendee or their family that has stuck with you?
Felicia: I am not sure if I have a particular moment, but I do get plenty of parents who thank me/us for doing this. It brings joy, gives folks a safe space to connect, and who doesn’t love a good ol’ story told with excitement, joy, and enthusiasm?
At some of the story hours, some more outgoing kids are outspoken or passionate about the stories; they are usually what I call the bosses. I do some playful banter about the story back and forth with them. It makes it fun and lighthearted, breaks the fourth wall of just me reading the story.
Lady Shug: Mine might be a little humorous, because we did an Indigenous Story Hour in San Francisco, and we had like two young folks. The sister had to be six, and the brother had to be maybe eight or nine. So sometimes we do, like, a Q&A; sometimes young folks or even adults want to ask questions. And this one little relative kept raising his hand, and his first question was, “Do you guys do this as a job?” And we’re like, “Yes.” And he’s like, “Well, do you guys get benefits? Do you guys have insurance?” And I was like “… What?”
And I just kind of chuckled and gave it to Landa. And then his follow-up was like, “Can you retire from doing this?” And I was like, “First of all, I want to answer your question, but second of all, who are your parents? Because you are asking the right questions at this age that I wish I’d asked my parents.” I was trying not to make it seem like we were laughing at him, but it was just so odd. And so that will forever be stuck in my mind. It was so cute, it was so raw, and I did answer him! But I just thought that was so humorous, and it was so genuine.
Lil Miss Hot Mess: My favorite thing is seeing kids dress up for Drag Story Hour events. Sometimes that’s their version of drag, sometimes it’s dressing up as a queen or princess, sometimes wearing an old Halloween costume, and sometimes just wearing their favorite sparkly sneakers or a t-shirt with their rainbow on it. But drag invites that kind of playful and thoughtful self-expression, and it’s so exciting to see children flex those creative muscles in their own unique ways!
And, I also have to say, I love getting to see kids react to my books, whether that’s at a story hour, or often parents will send me photos or videos of their kids reading the books at home. One friend recently sent me a video of her daughter reading Make Your Own Rainbow to herself, and with nearly every page turn, she exclaimed, “Ooh la la!” It was such a lovely and genuine reaction, and totally in the spirit of drag to be just a little bit over-the-top!
Per Sia: There are countless beautiful moments I could write an entire book about — but one Story Hour, in particular, continues to fill my heart with joy. In fact, it inspired my comic book titled Socrates and Me.
It happened during my last Drag Story Hour before a much-needed vacation. A young child, full of excitement, was eager to choose the second book I’d read. But before I could even ask a question, he stood up and proudly declared his name, his pronouns, the book title — and then, with even greater volume, shouted, “AND I AM TRANSGENDER!” The room erupted in cheers. I held back joyful tears and read the book, my heart full. And as I read, I couldn’t stop thinking about how powerful this program is — how it gives children (and adults alike) the language, confidence, and courage to understand and express who they are.
It’s moments like these that remind me just how vital inclusive programs like Drag Story Hour are — not just for the children, but for all of us.
Stormie: I am often a busy queen, so double-booked days and such are par for the course. Well, once I was invited to my local library after a volunteer voting guide recognized me when I was using the library to vote. After some tears of joy and sweet exchanges, right before heading to the polls to vote, I was brought to the library a few months later. That morning, I would have a Science Lesson at the local museum after my reading at the library. A child attended the reading that morning with their mother, and neither was familiar with or aware of the Museum event.
So after reading a story about a young child’s love of a beautiful dress, the child was remiss that they hadn’t taken the chance to wear their own special day dress to the reading. Seeing that wearing a dress was either rare for them or a nervous experience, I suggested they come to my science lesson, in their party dress, and assured them they shouldn’t feel nervous because I would be there. Though the mother protested politely, busy weekend for all and such, the child and the mother both showed up at the secondary event in matching party dresses, beaming.
Bonus Questions!
When getting into your drag persona, is there a special or unique element that you have to do or have? A specific song, a warm-up exercise, a signature shade of makeup, etc.?
Felicia: When getting into “face” or into character, I like to jam out to my playlist that I have curated on Spotify. I am a little different, I like to put on my body before I put on my face — that can be considered by warm-up exercise, haha.
Lady Shug: I don’t know if it’s a character, because Lady Shug is just another form of who I am as a human, so I don’t know if I would claim it as a character. I think my biggest thing would be to make sure that I have some kind of regalia, whether it’s my concho belt, whether it’s my sash belt, whether it’s turquoise. Like, some kind of Indigeninity intertwined into my look, or even just as protection. I think that’s just me as an Indigenous person; any time I leave the house, I like to have some kind of… something that reminds me of home, or something that shows that I am an Indigenous person. So I would say that I need to have that every time I get into becoming Shug.
As far as, like, songs or exercises? A good snack or some water before the reading. A lot of people don’t realize that when you perform, especially when the audience gets really interactive, you forget to take a breath, so you get cottonmouth really quick! I can only speak for myself, but sometimes I get too excited and I’m like, “OMG, I feel totally cottonmouth and dehydrated from just reading and talking to everybody in the audience.” I’m like, “I forgot to take a breath.”
Lil Miss Hot Mess: For me the whole experience of getting into drag is a bit of a ritual: it takes an hour or so to get into drag, and that time is actually fairly contemplative and helps me get into a state of flow as I disconnect from the world around me and have time to pamper myself and get pretty. And while I don’t exactly have one thing I need, overall my sensibility is to be bright and campy — as much for my own sake as the audience’s — so I always try to put together looks that literally brighten my day through colors, sequins, and all things fabulous. It helps create a separation between the realities of the everyday and the excitement of drag.
Per Sia: It really depends on the day but blasting cumbias, all the divas (Janet, Madonna, Carla Morrison, Gloria Trevi, etc. etc.), quebraditas, and anything dance gets me ready but it isn’t until I apply the Wing Queen black eyeliner by Sweet Street Cosmetics that I feel ready for the world! Música and a killer wing are what get me ready for anything.
Stormie: I put on my vintage terry cloth house coat, given to me by my mom, which once belonged to my grandma. I play a podcast or some music, often research related to my topic of reading, or music that I will perform. And of course, a hot mug of tea. To warm up the adenoids.
What was your favorite book to read when you were a child, and why?
Felicia: When I was younger, I loved Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch. My mom would read this to me before bed, but I also read throughout the day repeatedly. Then, as I grew up, I was obsessed with Judy Blume, The Babysitters Club, and the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series.
Lady Shug: Like I said, my mom instilled books in me at a young age, so I wasn’t one to play video games or play with toys. Like, my whole room was just books upon books. I think, as a child, a lot of my favorite books were the characters that were really strong matriarchy or femme-led, because in my mind, I wanted to be those girls in the illustrations. That was me, but I was never allowed to feel that way. So I think any books that were matriarchy strong, girl power, I was all about that.
And of course, I’m a drag queen, so anything that was sparkly or shiny, that was me! Oh! The Rainbow Fish! Yeah, that was one of my favorites just because I loved the illustrations (and because maybe the glitter). But as far as reading, anything that was like girl power, because I wanted to be that girl. But visually, The Rainbow Fish was one of my favorites, just ‘cause it was shiny.
Lil Miss Hot Mess: Probably not surprisingly, I was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz — first from the movie and stage musical, but then I read the book and most of the series as well. Put simply, I was a kid who loved fantasy and magic, and it offered a rich imagination. I even read Wicked at a fairly young age, thanks to an elementary school teacher who was friends with the book’s author, Gregory Maguire, who came to do a classroom visit. It’s really lovely to think back on what a treat that was — and, in hindsight, to have a queer author in our school — and it’s an honor to continue to do this work in my own way as a children’s author and drag storyteller.
Per Sia: As a child, I was deeply fascinated by earthquakes — their unpredictability, their force, the way they transformed landscapes. Spanish is my first language, and when I reached middle school, my mother encouraged me to begin reading in English. She gave me a book titled 100 Facts About Earthquakes and Volcanoes, which quickly became a cherished part of my life. It was more than just a book — it was my gateway into a new language and a lifelong love of learning. I kept it for years, a small but powerful reminder of my journey. When a student of mine — equally enthralled by the science of the earth — came along, I passed it on, knowing it was time for that story to inspire someone new.
Stormie: I was a Babar baby, but the narrative and rhetoric of the tale are due for an update. I was also a part of the Stellaluna generation, and I also still read from a collection of African American Folk tales called The People Could Fly. My mother read it to me and my brothers, and though the stories can be mature depending on the tale, it really makes me feel like I am cultivating the next generation when I read it.
An enormous thank you to Felicia, Lady Shug, Lil Miss Hot Mess, Per Sia, and Stormie for taking the time to share their work and experiences with us, and to Jonathan Hamilt of Drag Story Hour. As the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face harassment and disenfranchisement, we are so grateful to the performers and administrators of Drag Story Hour for continuing their critical work of creating welcoming, safe spaces for all readers.
Find Felicia “Fefe” Minor here.
Find Lady Shug here.
Find Lil Miss Hot Mess here.
Find Per Sia here.
Find Stormie Daie here.
To learn more about the history and mission of Drag Story Hour, check out our article To Be Different: The Colorful History of Drag Story Hour.
To see all of our recommendations for all mini bookworms, check out our Bookshop bookshelf.
