Read to Lead: Pride Month
The Clinton Presidential Center’s Read to Lead Series is all about helping young learners become great readers, leaders, and active citizens. We will explore some interesting topics, like how to be a good member of your community and learn more about yourself and the culture and history of our neighbors. This enriching event is free to the public.
Join us June 8 at Paper Hearts Bookstore for Read to Lead: Pride Month. You will get to listen to some great stories about influential voices from some amazing books read by Drag King Eddy Flex and Drag Queen Envy S. Hart. You’ll even get the chance to make some accessible crafts and participate in music-making activities.
BOOK 1: “‘Twas the Night Before Pride” by Joanna McClintick
This joyful picture-book homage to a day of community and inclusion—and to the joys of anticipation—is also a comprehensive history. With bright, buoyant illustrations and lyrical, age-appropriate rhyme modeled on “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” it tackles difficult content such as the Stonewall Riots and the AIDS marches. On the night before Pride, families everywhere are preparing to partake. As one family packs snacks and makes signs, an older sibling shares the importance of the march with the newest member of the family. Reflecting on the day, the siblings agree that the best thing about Pride is getting to be yourself. Debut author Joanna McClintick and Pura Belpré Award-winning author-illustrator Juana Medina create a new classic that pays homage to the beauty of families of all compositions—and of all-inclusive love.
BOOK 2: “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish” by Lil Miss Hot Mess
This book encourages readers to boldly be exactly who they are. Written by a founding member of the nationally recognized Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), this playful picture book offers a quirky twist on a classic nursery rhyme by illustrating all of the ways to “work it”. The story plays off “The Wheels on the Bus” as it follows a drag queen who performs her routine in front of an awestruck audience. A fun frenzy of fierceness, this book will appeal to readers of all ages.
Other events in this series:
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