What Kind of Queen?

A joyous picture book biography of José Sarria, a pioneering activist, drag queen, and the first openly gay candidate to run for public office in the United States

Once upon a time, there lived a boy named José who dreamed of becoming royalty―and of a queendom where everyone would be treated fairly and with respect.

A child of immigrants from Colombia, José Sarria was born in San Francisco in 1922. With the support of his family, he grew up to discover what it means to be a queen.

He fought against evil by serving in WWII, helping to liberate a Nazi concentration camp; he inspired others to be their authentic selves by performing at San Francisco’s Black Cat Café, a haven for artists and activists; and he cared for his community through his LGBTQ+ advocacy work, including the establishment of the Imperial Court System, a global charitable organization that still thrives today.

Sarria led by example, joyfully giving back to his community while challenging the status quo. With a fairy-tale feel and radiant illustrations, this picture book biography celebrates his legacy of seeing the world not as it is but as it could be.

Kyle Casey Chu, also known as Panda Dulce, is a San Francisco–born-and-raised writer and a founding queen of Drag Story Hour. Her first novel, The Queen Bees of Tybee County (2025), was named an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature - Children's Literature Honor title. Andrew W. Shaffer is a San Francisco–based historian of LGBTQ community and culture. His background includes graduate work at the University of San Francisco and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he helped to build the city’s first permanent LGBTQ archives. Cindy Lozito is a mixed Latina illustrator, cartoonist, and muralist based in Philadelphia, originally from Queens, New York. Her murals and artwork have appeared at the World Trade Center and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. When she is not illustrating, you can find Lozito giving her terrier mix belly rubs, singing in her local choir, or drinking too much cold brew.