Live and in person at Brookline Booksmith! Join us for a special Picture Book Hour with authors Sam Donovan and Kristen Wixted reading their book Miss Rita, Mystery Reader! They'll be joined by special guest Drag Queen Patty Bourrée!

Register for the event!

RSVP to let us know you're coming! Depending on the volume of responses, an RSVP may be required for entrance to the event. You will also be alerted to important details about the program, including safety requirements, cancellations, and book signing updates.

Reserve a book!

Books will be available for purchase at the event, but you can ensure that you get a copy by preordering on the registration page. You can pick your book up after 10:00AM on the day of the event.

Can't make it to the event? Preorder the book on the registration page to have it signed and personalized, and choose to have it held or shipped from the store!
 

Miss Rita, Mystery Reader

In this heartwarming picture book, 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.

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.

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.

Patty Bourrée is the drag persona of Boston-based cabaret artist and educator Patrick Burr. The Director of Boston’s chapter of Drag Queen Story Hour, Burr has also taught acting, voice, and vocal performance for over a decade with elementary to college level students. Educated at NYU and Emerson college, Burr uses their theatrical training all over Boston and the greater New England area in shows for kids and adults. Follow @pattybourree for more information or for kids shows follow @dqshboston.