Drag queen storytime is exactly what it sounds like.

Take a drag performer in a fabulous outfit, put them on stage in front of curious kids and you’ve got drag queen storytime – an event that started at the Brooklyn Public Library, spread across North America and is now about to land in Burnaby.

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On Saturday, July 21 three queens – Maiden China, Gay Sha and Tommy – will read to kids at the Bob Prittie branch of the Burnaby Public Library in Metrotown. The performers will take turns getting on stage to read children’s books.

Neither a drag show nor kids’ storytime are new ideas, but combining the two provides a unique opportunity to educate young folks, said organizer Candie Tanaka.

“The two have been connected in the spirit of promoting diversity and inclusion within literacy,” explained Tanaka, executive director of the International Centre of Arts and Technology.

The queens are accustomed to getting on stage to sing, dance, lip-synch and more, Tanaka said, but they often find the younger audience more “intimidating.”

Children are notorious for asking untactful questions.

“Sometimes they’ll say ‘Are you a boy or a girl?’”

“The usual answer will be: ‘Does it really matter to you?’”

The kids usually say “no,” Tanaka said.

“We try to answer the questions and leave them kind of open-ended so they can explore and try and learn things on their own and make their own decisions about life,” they said. (Tanaka uses gender-neutral pronouns.)

They said the kids learn as much about gender diversity as reading and writing.

“I think it helps a lot with the kids in the sense that they can see someone up there on stage reading that maybe is a little bit different than their usual storytellers,” they said.

Saturday’s event is free and open to all ages. It’s at 1:30 p.m., but arrive early to get a good seat.

The Bob Prittie library branch is at 6100 Willingdon Ave.