Big Wig

In the spirit of Julián Is a Mermaid, this irrepressible picture book celebrates drag kids, individuality, and self-confidence from the perspective of a fabulous wig!

When a child dresses in drag to compete in a neighborhood costume competition, he becomes B. B. Bedazzle! A key part of B.B. Bedazzle’s ensemble is a wig called Wig. Together they are an unstoppable drag queen team! But Wig feels inadequate compared to the other, bigger wigs. When Wig flies off B. B.’s head, she goes from kid to kid instilling confidence and inspiring dreams in those who wear her:

Wig remembers what wigs can do.
Wig brushes the world,
bolder,
brighter
hues.
Wig hears whispered wishes…
and turns them into
something true.
The bigger their dreams,
the bigger Wig seems.

This wonderful read aloud celebrates the universal childhood experience of dressing up and the confidence that comes with putting on a costume. And it goes further than that, acknowledging that sometimes dressing differently from what might be expected is how we become our truest and best selves.

Jonathan Hillman is a graduate of Hamline University’s Writing for Children and Young Adults (MFAC) program, where he received the Walden Pond Press Scholarship for Excellence in Middle Grade Fiction. His essay and poems are featured in the Fat & Queer anthology. Big Wig marks his picture book debut. He lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his two cats. Visit him at JHillmanBooks.com.

Levi Hastings is the illustrator of Mayor Pete: The Story of Pete Buttigieg by Rob Sanders and The Spirit of Springer by Amanda Abler, about which The New York Times raved, “This beautiful book tells a suspenseful, heartrending true story.” Levi lives in Seattle with his husband. Learn more at LeviHastings.com.