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Guinness World Records was a no-show, but Kirk Cameron is confident that this year’s See You at the Library event set a milestone for children’s story hours.
The second annual gathering drew tens of thousands of people to 360 children’s library readings held Saturday by local volunteers in nearly every state, according to Brave Books, the conservative publisher that sponsored the event.
Mr. Cameron, a Christian actor and Brave Books author, joined Pastor John Amanchukwu at three libraries in Northern Virginia, where they were greeted by large crowds of parents and kids — but not the Guinness crew.
Mr. Cameron’s team reached out to Guinness after a drag-queen children’s reading held June 1 in Philadelphia set a record for the “largest attendance at a drag queen story time” with 263 attendees, as recorded by adjudicators at the scene.
Mr. Cameron had hoped to set a record along the lines of “biggest children’s library story time.”
His team reached out to Guinness, and the company responded with an informational email July 1, but didn’t reply to a follow-up query, according to emails shared with The Washington Times.
“Guinness didn’t show up, but we had the world’s largest story hour [Saturday], See You at the Library,” Mr. Cameron told Fox News.
Attendees at the patriotic events recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang “God Bless America,” while their hosts read from the Brave Books collection and other kid-friendly works.
“That’s what’s so beautiful about it. These are families that showed up, and they have their kids all waving all these American flags. Not rainbow flags,” Mr. Cameron said.
“I’m so thankful that the values that they’re celebrating are the values that made this such a great country, like faith and morality and education, law and liberty,” he said.
Other celebrities joining the event included Jep and Jessica Robertson of the “Duck Dynasty” clan, who hosted a children’s reading in Bossier City, Louisiana.
The @BraveBooksus team and I tried for over a month to invite an adjudicator from The Guinness World Records team to attend See You at the Library this Saturday August 24th, but after three attempts at submitting our application, we never heard back despite their promises to… pic.twitter.com/6HVCiIO6sO
— Kirk Cameron (@KirkCameron) August 22, 2024
The former teen star began hosting children’s readings at public libraries in late 2022, renting out public rooms after Brave Books said that 50 libraries rejected or ignored requests to sponsor readings hosted by Mr. Cameron, despite previously sponsoring drag-queen story hours.
The events typically drew overflow crowds, often requiring Mr. Cameron to hold more than one reading, culminating in the first See You at the Library national event in August 2023, which drew an estimated 10,000 people.
“This year, we were even larger than last year, organized by others, not me, not Brave Books, but moms and dads,” Mr. Cameron said.
Not everyone is a fan.
Critics dubbed the event the “Kirkpocalypse 2024.” Some organizers had trouble reserving library space, and at least one originally scheduled speaker canceled.
In Colorado, Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek bowed out after initially agreeing to read a book at the library event sponsored by the Eagle County Republicans, saying he would schedule another children’s reading “away from any controversy.”
He had been scheduled to read Brave Books’ “The Island of Free Ice Cream” by conservative activist Jack Posobiec, a book about “the wonders of a free market,” as reported by the Vail Daily.
“At the time, while I was given the book title, I didn’t realize the controversy surrounding it,” said Sheriff Van Beek on Facebook. “Storytime for young children should not be controversial, even if the topic is worthy.”
Mr. Cameron appeared at the James M. Duncan Branch Library in Alexandria; the Gum Spring Library in Loudoun County, and the Bowman Library in Stephens City.
“On August 24th I went into the swamp, not necessarily to drain it, but to purify it,” he said in a statement. “The people in our nation’s capital are thirsty for clean, wholesome entertainment and education for their children. Brave Books and many other fearless, faithful companies provide that, and without your support the woke virus will continue to spread making the swamp thicker and Americans sicker than ever.”
Mr. Cameron added: “That’s why I’m thankful for the hundreds of brave Americans who volunteered to host a story hour this year.”
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