RuPaul (61) (Little People, BIG DREAMS)

Product Information

Central to RuPaul's success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world's largest television franchises, RuPaul's ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and super mogul. It was a shame that the text at the end (with the timeline and the photographs) was blank in my ecopy. While it is often a more text-heavy rehash of the story there are sometimes new details found there. A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag. If this story is anything to go by, then I know I will enjoy other books from this series. What a lovely read and a great way to share the extraordinary lives of the icons of the world past and present. It was interesting enough as an intro to The Scene (since I'm not at all versed in it, or exposed to it beyond TV), and I enjoyed all the pictures of young Scene RuPaul. But... those years are quite, quite obviously heavily glossed to avoid all the "seedier" aspects. And I still don't know who Lady Bunny really is in relation to RuPaul, even though they were friends coming up together. The book doesn't make any friendships very clear... it's entirely focused on Ru and her emergence into mainstream culture.

I received an eARC copy from Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.This empowering series offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardcover versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. Boxed gift sets allow you to collect a selection of the books by theme. Paper dolls, learning cards, matching games, and other fun learning tools provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children.

If we're all born naked and the rest is drag, then this is RuPaul totally out of drag. This is RuPaul stripped bare. However, while the book does inspire and convey an important message, it felt too simplified. This series, in general, talks about many extraordinary people who have done remarkable things in their lives. The books in the series are simplified, giving the basics of the basics, as these are picture books and mainly for children, but this one seemed just plain, more than other books in the series.RuPaul was born RuPaul Andre Charles on November 17, 1960, in San Diego, California. His parents divorced when RuPaul was seven, and he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with his sister and her husband during his teens. RuPaul was the only boy of his parents’ four children and eventually began wearing his sisters’ clothes and exploring cross-dressing, emulating stars like Diana Ross and Jane Fonda in his youth. As always, there are some real photos and a short biography at the end, along with suggestions for other reference material if you want to follow up. Playing with his first punk band, he mixed a prom dress with army boots on stage. Everyone wondered if he was a boy or a girl.” Did he discover more of those hidden meanings as he got deeper into the writing process? “Oh, absolutely,” he says. “Absolutely. And that’s where a kind of fearlessness comes in. A lot of the time, we, as humans, carry with us guilt about certain things. And then you realise, Oh my goodness, that had nothing to do with me. That was their issue. Right now, I’m talking about my parents. But when you look at it as an adult, you realise it had nothing to do with you, and you can relieve yourself of some of the pressure and blame you’ve assigned to yourself.” Little People, Big Dreams, RuPaul is an uplifting story that teaches our future that it’s okay to be different, that love truly does conquer all, and, ironically, Little People, Big Dreams, RuPaul shares the ultimate message of God’s love in a non-churchy format.

Never one to rest on his laurels, the entertainer launched his RuPaul: What's the Tee? podcast in 2014, with frequent collaborator Michelle Visage, and appeared as a judge on the body painting competition Skin Wars. He also hosted the trivia game show Gay for Play for two seasons beginning in April 2016, while continuing to churn out albums like 2015's Slay Belles and 2017's Remember Me: Essential, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and American.I just love these Little People BIG Dreams series and I look forward to a new batch each time. So when I saw a new batch appear with RuPaul in the mix? I knew I had to get it and read it! Late 2018 brought another holiday-themed album, Christmas Party, and RuPaul's third book, GuRu. His attempt to return to the daytime talk show circuit with 2019's RuPaul was short-lived, as was his 2020 Netflix comedy-drama series, AJ and the Queen. Undeterred, the drag icon unveiled his thirteenth studio album, You're a Winner Baby, in January 2020, and hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time the following month. Hollywood Walk of Fame RuPaul and the U-Hauls broke up before too long, and Wee Wee Pole was formed in its place, performing around Atlanta. RuPaul also made his first move into acting during this period, appearing in uncredited roles in a series of low-budget movies. While these appearances didn’t help RuPaul climb the ladder of fame, he was never short on ideas to further his career. In one such push, RuPaul sold pictures of himself as postcards and created little booklets with self-penned witticisms and anecdotes.