Brave Books and Kirk Cameron have announced the 2024 “See You At The Library” Events happening on August 24 across the nation. This time around, BRAVE Books is upping the ante, not only in attendance and host sign-ups, but in ways for everyone to participate, even if you cannot attend or host an event.
The publisher is also inviting the Guinness Book of World Records to document and tally attendance in order to receive an award designation. On July 1, Guinness awarded Philadelphia with the largest attendance at a Drag Queen story hour reading.
“Today was an amazing day!” exclaimed Brittany Lynn.
The Philadelphia drag activist was referring to the just-completed drag queen story time held June 1 at the National Constitution Center, which officially established a new Guinness World Records title for “largest attendance at a drag queen story time reading.”
The event was hosted by PGN, and sponsored by Visit Philadelphia. Several of Philadelphia’s most prominent drag performers were in attendance to read to an enthusiastic crowd of children and their parents. Officials from Guinness were on hand to formally tally the attendance, which clocked in at 263.
I sat down with Cameron, who described how this sparked the inspiration to invite Guinness Book of World Records to record the Brave Books “See You At The Library” 2024 Event.
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Do you remember last year’s ‘See You at the Library’ day? The values of our founding fathers are still alive today and you can be a part of spreading brush fires of faith and freedom for this year’s movement in two ways: Sign up to host your own story hour or donate a story hour… pic.twitter.com/82wZyGT9GB
— Kirk Cameron (@KirkCameron) July 20, 2024
Sign up to host your own story hour or donate a story hour host kit that will go to one of the 100+ hosts we already have signed up at. Go to http://bravestoryhour.com to join this movement today! God Bless
As I reported in August 2023, the first-ever Brave Books Story Hour Event Day was a huge success, with more than 10,000 families in attendance from over 46 states and 300-plus counties across America. The 2024 Event Day sign-ups have already surpassed 2023, with 315 locations registered two weeks out from the August 24 date.
With great success comes greater detraction and resistance. Organizations like Read Freely Alabama, which led some protests at the 2023 events, have not posted any plans (thus far) on how they will approach this year. This writer reached out to Read Freely Alabama for a video interview, but the leadership declined, saying, “We deeply appreciate the courtesy you are giving us for a deeper interview. Unfortunately, we’re extremely busy right now and this statement is the most we can do.”
Here is the statement Read Freely Alabama issued in response to the See You At The Library 2024 Events:
“Read Freely Alabama has no position on Kirk Cameron’s book sale events. We believe public library spaces should be accessible to all regardless of religious and partisan beliefs. It appears the event planners are renting the library spaces in accordance to the policies in place.”
The statement gives a window into their narrative: that Kirk Cameron and Brave Books is all about selling books, not about creating a movement and activating families and communities to create safe and wholesome environments where liberty, patriotism, and traditional values can be celebrated. Book Riot, which was in a tizzy over last year’s events, is also pushing this narrative while avoiding overt statements that signal if or how they might protest.
See You At The Library aims to stoke the moral panic around public institutions like libraries no longer honoring “viewpoints that are foundational, time-honored, and true” in favor of “the more radical.” After the American Library Association responded to these events last year, the publisher and its author are more determined than ever to “prove” their freedom of speech is being squashed when these events are denied at public libraries. The problem is that these are not only blatantly political events–something many libraries outline in their policies are not allowed in public meeting rooms–these events aren’t about freedom, liberty, or religious beliefs.
They’re about selling Brave Books.
And that big “Donate” button on the Drag Queen Story Hour website is for what, exactly?
Cameron addressed the detractors “Level 10 hypocrisy,” and also their charge that it’s all about the Benjamins and not about the values.
There’s a set of values that they want to be celebrated and created, and that’s because ideas create worlds and we do too. We have a set of ideas about loving God and loving your neighbor, about self-government, family, government, and keeping responsibility and authority in the hands of the people that create a world of freedom and blessing and opportunity. So, of course, we are absolutely promoting ideas that we think lead to human flourishing and we are against ideas that we think lead to America becoming a dumpster fire.
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This year, Brave Books is offering several ways to be a part of this flourishing.
If you’re thinking, I’d like to go, I’d like to support, but I don’t wanna host, that’s not my thing. Well, maybe you could talk to a friend—you’ve probably got a friend or someone who’s watching, listening to us right now who’s like, “Oh, they’re a doer. They’re the kind of person who wants to be out front. They like to talk. They want to get stuff done.” Great! Talk to them and say, I will support you. I will help you. I’ll get the toolkit into your hands and I’ll help you get the word out. You know, let me be your support team and host. We want to set the Guinness World Record and we want this to make everybody realize that we are teed up and set up and desperate for an awakening of first principles in America, and a revival of the faith that leads to our blessing.
As he did last year, Cameron plans to fly in to some of the events as a guest host, and also plans to bring along another special guest.
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For more information on how to host, support a host, or participate in the 2024 “See You At The Library Events,” visit the Brave Books website.
