Celebrate Your PRIDE and Teach The Children with LEGENDARY CHILDREN!

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It’s been a minute since we plugged our beautiful queer unicorn baby, but sometimes, you’ve just gotta post your Ws where and when you can in this world, are we right? We recently noted that our favorite new tradition is people sending us pictures of our book, Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life, on display somewhere or in their possession after someone gave it to them.. After all, who could resist showing off this gorgeous cover by the incredibly talented Cheyne Gallarde?

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It’s fun, it’s colorful, it’s diverse and celebratory, it catches the eye and it references the most popular queer show on television world wide, a bona fide cultural phenomenon: RuPaul’s Drag Race. All that AND it’s critically acclaimed. Cosmopolitan called it one of the best new books of spring! NPR named it as one of the best books of the year in seven categories! The New York Times called it “New and Noteworthy!” The Washington Post said that “‘Legendary Children’ arrives at just the right time … because the world needs authenticity in its stories. Fitzgerald and Marquez deliver that, giving readers an insight into the important but overlooked people who made our current moment possible.” The Los Angeles Times noted that “’Legendary Children’ aims to broaden our understanding of the rich drag culture driving every scene of ‘Drag Race.’ The book’s 10 chapters turn ‘Drag Race’s’ challenges and recurring elements (the Pit Crew, Snatch Game, etc.) into a deceptively simple framing device for a nuanced exploration of the gender-bending figures, insider lingo and significant milestones in queer history to which the show owes its existence.” The Associated Press called it “delightful and important,” adding that “It’s a history well told, one that is approachable and enjoyable for all to digest. The prose is upbeat and makes a reader as excited about the history as the authors so clearly are.”

And that’s not all! Shelf Awareness said Legendary Children is “a lively, fascinating, comprehensive and essential LGBTQ history lesson, will reach and educate a new generation. By showing how every aspect of RuPaul’s Drag Race can be traced to longstanding queer traditions and pioneers, Tom & Lorenzo have revitalized history.” Paper called it, “Part loving homage to the show, part history lesson, think of it as the queer education you didn’t get in public school.” Bitch Media called it a must-read book for feminists! Variety called it “a fantastic primer”! Michael Musto called it a “must-read book”! The AV Club noted that the book’s “sharp, smart playfulness…encapsulates the tremendous appeal of Legendary Children: great seriousness of purpose set off by a mischievous, even lascivious wink.”

What we’re trying to say here, without even a hint of subtlety and possibly not a shred of dignity, is that we remain ever so proud of our little slice of the rainbow. To this day, we’re still making Zoom appearances for high school and college classes that use our book as assigned reading and we still get notes from new readers telling us how much the book has meant to them. It makes a great gift for the young queer or queer ally in your life, but it also makes a great little read for yourself. You don’t even have to be a Drag Race fan, we promise. Click through our Legendary tag to see features on several of the historic figures you may never have heard of who are spotlighted in the book or to read excerpts, listen to a live podcast of us reading and answering questions, or even check out our Google Talk. You can find pretty much every way or method of buying our baby here. Happy reading! Because reading is what?

• Legendary Children
• Legendary Children Press and Reviews