At a time of rising hate, actor and author Kirk Cameron is sharing a message of love with young readers. “The Fox, the Fair and the Invention Scare,” released this week by Brave Books, shows how giraffes and foxes end a long family feud and heal their divided community with courtesy, compassion and kindness.
“Our world is at war, literally,” Cameron says. “And all along our children are watching, trying to make sense of things. If we can show them something different, if we can show them that we’re really all brothers, we can give them hope.”
The book tells the tale of young Stewart the Giraffe and Asher the Fox, who compete at the Hive Haven Invention Fair. Tensions flare when their families air age-old grievances. Stewart and Asher watch in horror as their inventions are destroyed in the chaos that ensues. They then join forces to win first prize at the fair and end generations of animosity between the giraffes and foxes.
The new book was inspired by a true story of forgiveness, healing and love that the author witnessed years ago at a Restore America Rally in Washington, D.C. A couple said their son was gunned down on an inner-city street but that they vowed to respond with faith and love. A young man then spoke, saying it was he who killed the couple’s son. The boy’s parents not only forgave the murderer but welcomed him into their family and gave him the love that had been missing in his life and that made him a killer.
“He said the love of God demonstrated by this couple had forever changed him and gave him new life and a new heart,” Cameron told Fox News. “They not only forgave him; they had something deep in their heart that allowed them to treat somebody who killed their child as if he were their own son.”
His message of love and forgiveness in “The Fox, the Fair and the Invention Scare” comes straight from the teachings of Jesus.
“Earlier teachings told people to love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” he said, citing the book of Matthew. “Jesus taught us to not only love our neighbors but to extend kindness to our enemies. God sends the sun to shine on both the good and the evil and the rains to water the crops of both the righteous and unrighteous.”
With the release of this book, Cameron also has introduced a social media and outreach campaign that offers to meet with and find common ground with his legion of critics.
“I’m a Christian conservative, traditional-values guy,” he said. “There are people out there who appear to be my enemies. They probably see me as their enemy. But I think we can have respectful discussions about family values, morality, religion and the books we should be reading to our children.”
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice