Storytime is a beloved experience for many young children. Libraries, schools, and other groups organize these events to promote early literacy with books being read aloud, songs, games, and other interactive activities. Once a year for the past five years, in the rural community of Gunnison, a special storytime is held on the campus of Western Colorado University.
“I’m Miss Shirley, and I’m going to be your reader for a little drag queen storytime,” announced the reader. “Who’s excited for a little drag queen storytime?”
About a dozen young children are seated in a small theater on campus. The event is part of the annual Gunnison Valley Theatre Festival held in the summer.
The kids are here with their parents and guardians for a storytime with Shirley Delta Blow, a well-known Denver-based drag queen.
Today, Miss Shirley is wearing a large pink foam wig, pearl costume jewelry, and a colorful '50s-style dress. She’s sitting on a chair in front of a table filled with children’s books.
“Who likes horses? Who likes unicorns? Who likes pink cupcakes? [Audience says 'me.'] Good for you, because this book has all three of them in it,” she asked the audience.
Miss Shirley is played by Stuart Sanks. He’s an educator, actor, and drag performer.
The first drag storytime was in 2015 in San Francisco. Two years later, a Front Range bookstore asked Sanks to be a part of the first drag queen storytime in Denver.
“I was in a show at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in drag. And the bookstore reached out to our drag company, and we all went and read stories,” he said.
Sanks said the bookstore only knew him as an actor and asked him how comfortable he was reading books to children.
“I’ve been an elementary school teacher for 10 years. So I literally do that every day, so I feel really comfortable reading books to kids,” he said.
After that, Sanks began performing regularly as Miss Shirley for storytime events. He’s participated in numerous storytimes in Denver, Boulder, and other Front Range communities.
He said he loves reading books to kids and loves what books can do.
“We can go places with books. We can lead with our imagination. And then, I love getting people together to do things communally. We read together. We hear stories together. And now, when we do that, we are all connected in a way we hadn’t been before,” he said.
Megan Lucas, a local librarian, was at the Gunnison storytime with her two young children.
“I think all storytimes are great, and I’m a big proponent of having kids come and listen to a story. I think every reader brings a little bit of a different flavor. And I just love Miss Shirley’s positivity. After every story, she always says ‘I love that story,’ and that is something we’ve continued to do at home,” Lucas said.
Brett Lyons, a locksmith in Gunnison, came with his wife and 4-year-old daughter. It was his first time at a drag queen storytime.
“It seemed just like any other storytime to me, just with more of a show and more fun. This is highlighting stuff that is not usually highlighted,” he said.
Lyons had this message for those who might question bringing a child to a drag queen storytime.
“If you are afraid of something you don’t understand, it is probably better to embrace it and learn about it than to shun it and be afraid of it. Fear creates more problems than acceptance,” he said.
Sanks said over the years, he’s faced some backlash against drag queen storytime, but he says that’s usually due to a lack of understanding.
“They’ve never been to a drag queen storytime. They are saying all kinds of things that don’t happen. That’s sad to me; that's where we are in the world right now. We get an opinion or an idea and dig our heels in before we get any information,” he said.
In recent years, drag performers and drag queen storytimes have become a political flashpoint around the country, with states like Texas and Montana considering legislation to ban them. However, courts continue to block or strike down such legislation on grounds that it violates the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
Protesters have shown up at a few Front Range drag queen storytime events hosted by Sanks, but he said they should think about who they’re really confronting.
“We still have to realize that people who come to drag queen storytime, a majority of them are children. And so if we are going to stand out in front of the library and yell hateful things, you are yelling hateful things at children. So don’t point your finger at me and tell me I'm doing the damage when I think you are,” he said.
Sanks said typically the storytimes, like this one in Gunnison, are positive, fun, and welcoming.
“I dress in these fabulous costumes because they help me to be expressive and have fun and put a little joy out into the world. And if everybody had a little dose of that, then our world would be a happier, kinder, and safer place,” he said.
Sanks recently celebrated his 20th anniversary as a school teacher and is currently working on a children’s book about his drag queen character.
