people who are representing the val- ues of their citizens,” Cameron said he pushed back against the raft of denials by sending a copy of his book — and a strongly worded letter. After contesting what Cameron
called “unconstitutional discrimina- tion,” he said the libraries eventually “reversed course” and provided infor- mation on how he could reserve a space to read his book. Cameron said he expected the ini-
tial opposition “simply because there is so much pushback to faith-based and conservative ideas throughout our cul- ture, especially in education.” “Public schools and public libraries
are so ‘woke,’ they have gone broke,” he said. “They are broken morally and broken spiritually.” Cameron’s persistence ultimately
paid off when it led to a record-shat- tering appearance at the Indianapolis Public Library last December. His read- ing drew more than 2,500 people — the largest crowd the library had seen in 137 years. Yet a February visit to Henderson-
ville Public Library in Tennessee drew much fanfare but still received opposi- tion from the library. Fox News reported that after spe-
cial guests Missy Robertson of the popular TV show Duck Dynasty and women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines announced they would attend Camer- on’s story hour, a library official told Brave Books that he “did not want a movement coming to his library.” After Cameron considered moving
the event to a church the librarian even- tually relented, and the event went on as planned. The county library board voted to fire the Hendersonville director over the incident the following month. Considering how many families
were attracted to the first few story hour events, Cameron said it was a lie for
Love, Joy, and Gentleness T
he main character of As You Grow is an acorn that eventually develops into a giant oak tree.
Cameron said the book is a “beautiful story” that
“teaches biblical wisdom and how to grow the fruit of the spirit.” “The fruit of the spirit,” a biblical phrase, is defined
by Cameron as referring to values such as love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Throughout the story, the acorn “goes through
different seasons in his life” during which the “fruit” of “courage and kindness and patience” help him to get through various dificult stages. Ultimately, Cameron said the moral of the story is that people need to possess the same qualities and faith-based values as the acorn to “develop and grow as we go through different seasons in our lives.”
these libraries to say that their commu- nities wouldn’t be interested in his book. “People are loving coming to these
events,” he said. “It’s inspiring and encouraging for me to see brave moms and dads and grandparents getting off the defense and onto the offense.” Cameron said the large turnout
proves that parents want to be “part of something that lets their voices be heard. “They want to do something that
turns the culture and direction into what they know is good,” he said. Cameron’s book is just one in a series
of stories published by Brave Books that takes place on Freedom Island. Brave Books’ mission is to “help par-
ents instill a love of truth in their chil- dren so that the children will withstand harmful progressive influences.” They aim to “honor God by shaping a future generation of Americans who will fight for a nation defined by freedom, truth, humility, bravery, and compassion.” Cameron said the premise for the
series is teaching kids “great values” and also “warning them” of the “dan- gers of tricky subjects” like socialism, critical race theory, and gender in a way they can understand. The books are written primarily for
ages 4-12. In order to “gain entrance” to Free- dom Island, where all the stories take
Cameron said the large turnout proves that parents want to be “part of something that lets their voices be heard.”
place, parents can join the Freedom Island Book Club. Every month, sub- scribers receive a new book, games, stickers, and discussion sections. Readers also receive a big map of
Freedom Island, which is modeled on the original 13 colonies of the U.S. “It’s a real place, it’s the U.S.,” Cam-
eron said. All of the stories take place in dif-
ferent regions on Freedom Island and focus on how the “island” became free, and how readers can become heroes to help keep it free. The characters in the stories often have to overcome invaders who want to try to take their freedom away. And the new author is not a tempo-
rary resident of Freedom Island. Cameron’s As You Grow won’t be
his sole offering for the book series. He is already working on adding two more titles, and both are scheduled to be released later this year. He said the series creates new
worlds and new heroes for children to get excited about. “Through those stories, we can teach
them values,” he said. Sign-ups for the monthly book club
are helping fund Cameron’s book tour. “It’s a great investment into your children’s moral integrity and faith and their future,” Cameron said. “It’s a win-win.”
Cameron’s story hour book tour will
make several more stops this year. He’s headed to Tennessee, Arizona, Pennsyl- vania, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
MAY 2023 | NEWSMAX 57
BOOK ART BY JUAN MORENO
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