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Miss Rita, Mystery Reader

Miss Rita, Mystery Reader

Current price: $18.99
Publication Date: May 3rd, 2022
Publisher:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ISBN:
9781250774767
Pages:
40
Backordered, expect longer than usual fulfillment time.

Description

In Sam Donovan, Kristen Wixted & Violet Tobacco's heartwarming picture book Miss Rita, Mystery Reader, Tori can’t wait to show off Daddy’s drag queen alter ego, Miss Rita, at school story time. But will the other kids love Miss Rita like Tori does?

Daddy is the Mystery Reader at Tori’s school today, and he’s coming dressed as Miss Rita! Tori helps Daddy gloss, glitter, glamour, and glimmer to get ready. It takes time—because sparkle is serious business!

Tori loves helping Daddy become Miss Rita. But will the other kids at school love Miss Rita like Tori does? Luckily, a last-minute idea helps Daddy and Tori find a way to make story time sparkle for everyone.

This heartwarming and relatable family story celebrates drag queens, reading, and self-acceptance, teaching every kid to let their sparkle shine! And it includes back matter providing an overview of drag performance.

About the Author

Sam Donovan is a fashion designer who loves color, print, and texture. If you’re a fan of Project Runway, Sam’s name might be familiar to you—he was the runner-up on Project Runway: Under the Gunn, and took 4th place on Season 5 of Project Runway: All Stars. He regularly designs clothes for drag performers, and hopes something he's designed inspires you to smile. He lives in Massachusetts.

Kristen Wixted writes picture books and middle grade novels. She’s the co-editor and general force behind the illustrated children’s poetry anthologies published by The Writers’ Loft Press, An Assortment of Animals and Friends and Anemones: Ocean Poems for Children. She is also an experienced Mystery Reader who lives in Massachusetts with her husband, three children, a dog, and a cat. In her spare time she can be found in her flower garden, which she is pretty sure is inhabited by magical creatures.

Violet Tobacco illustrates in her small apartment in the heart of Atlanta. Having a background in theater, she has translated her adoration for storytelling into illustration. Violet has the great fortune to work with other creative individuals and draw wild and whimsical worlds that help us better understand who we are. The ocean and her orange cat are her best friends. Find her on Instagram.

Praise for Miss Rita, Mystery Reader

"Sweet and reassuring...The vivid, expressive, and energetic illustrations catch just the right over-the-top tone. This fun selection is a great way to enhance picture-book collections." — Booklist, starred review

"The story is amusing and reads well. Drag performers should have this at the tops of their lists for drag-themed storytimes for the next several years—and a talented storyteller will be able to milk this for all it's worth... There's no mystery here; Miss Rita is going to werk all Pride Month! Let this winning pair sashay onto your shelf." — Kirkus Reviews

"Tori’s feelings—from excitement to wide-eyed nervousness—are clear in Tobacco’s digital art, while bright colors evoke drag’s vibrant nature. Donovan and Wixted's conversational text emphasizes an emotionally honest parent-child relationship, and like any good performance, it’s fun and full of heart." —Publishers Weekly