The Theater Offensive (TTO), Company One (C1) and The Boston Public Library (BPL) present VIRTUAL Drag Story Hour. Each Thursday session, a different drag performer will read a children’s book with LGBTQ themes — featuring Neon Calypso, KaMani Sutra, and Ra'Jah O'Hara! Drag Story Hour 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.

This week’s book is Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian, illustrated by Mike Curato.

You are cordially invited to celebrate the wedding of a worm...and a worm. When a worm meets a special worm and they fall in love, you know what happens next: They get married! But their friends want to know—who will wear the dress? And who will wear the tux? The answer is: It doesn't matter. Because worm loves worm.

After drag performer Neon Calypso reads the book for us, we'll chat with illustrator Mike Curato!

Read by: Neon Calypso

A Brooklyn Queen with a Boston attitude, Neon Calypso is a drag artist who presents the struggles of intersectionality and what it means to be queer, black, and femme with performances reflecting on life experiences through song, dance, and spoke word. You can catch her in NightGowns with Sasha Velour, a new digital docuseries on the streaming app Quibi, exploring the process of producing a live NightGowns show and a behind the scenes introductions to the core cast.

https://www.facebook.com/NeCalypso

https://www.instagram.com/neoncalypso/

https://twitter.com/NeonCalypso

Illustrated by:Mike Curato

Mike loves drawing and writing almost as much as he loves cupcakes and ice cream (and that's a LOT!). He is the author and illustrator of everyone's favorite polka-dotted elephant, Little Elliot. His debut title, Little Elliot, Big City, released in 2014 to critical acclaim, has won several awards, and has been translated into over ten languages. There are now five books in the Little Elliot series, including Little Elliot, Big Family; Little Elliot, Big Fun; Little Elliot, Fall Friends; and Merry Christmas, Little Elliot. Meanwhile, Mike had the pleasure of illustrating What If... by Samantha Berger, All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle, Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian, and contributed to What's Your Favorite Color? by Eric Carle and Friends and Sunny Day: A Celebration of the Sesame Street Theme Song. His latest books, released in 2020, are The Power of One written by Trudy Ludwig, and his first YA graphic novel, Flamer! Publishers Weekly named Mike a "Fall 2014 Flying Start." In the same year he won the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show Founder's Award.

https://www.facebook.com/mikecuratoillustration

https://twitter.com/MikeCurato

http://instagram.com/mike_curato

Drag Story Hour 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.