We’ve featured Brave Books quite a bit here on RedState. This conservative publisher is doing yeoman’s work in countering the culture of Marxism, Leftist agendas, and anti-American ideals, by equipping families with tools to instill conservative values into their children.
Defiance Press is an established conservative book publisher that has only recently entered the children’s book fray. Founder David Thomas Roberts did not have these books in the company strategy, but requests from parents and grandparents who saw the result of what today’s educational system is doing to their children caused him to pivot.
“So, yeah, it’s kind of funny ’cause originally I wasn’t going to do a children’s book ’cause I just didn’t know that market,” Roberts said.
“But I had so many people coming to us and say, ‘Listen, we need to get the kids because the school systems are terrible.’ We all know what they’re teaching: the Critical Race Theory and destroying our history and our American exceptionalism.”
Roberts has imprinted the Defiance Press line of Children’s Books as, “Blue Bonnet Books.”
“So, all of our imprints are for the ‘Blue Bonnet kids,’ Roberts said.
“The [public school] messages aren’t, you know, the history; the civics isn’t being taught. So we’re excited about the children’s book line.”
Unlike Brave Books, instead of using known conservative influencers, Roberts opened his platform to everyday Americans who have stories to tell to submit their manuscripts for publication.
Nick Miceli decided to answer the call. He felt strongly about the transgender sports issue, even though he has no daughters. Miceli is the proud father of six sons, one of whom illustrated his new book, Looks Like a Cheetah to Me! (get it–Cheetah… Cheater? Very punny)
Looks Like a Cheetah to Me-Rule Book Artwork
Gwen the gazelle loves to race competitively (she’s a gazelle, Duh) in track and field against the other gazelles. Until a cheetah puts on some antlers and says he “identifies” as a gazelle and demands to compete against them. Confusion and conflict ensue, while politicians and the news media cheer it on. How will Gwen and her fellow gazelles restore the joy of doing what they were born to do?
The book is obviously a satirical commentary on the current mess of biological men being allowed to compete against young women in high school and college sports. Looks Like A Cheetah To Me is appropriate snark for adults to enjoy, with captivating illustrations and a simple story about fairness that resonates with young children.
Miceli is an engineer by trade, and he encapsulated this cultural madness succinctly.
“This is a denial of reality, but you can’t do that,” he said.
“As an engineer, you say that, oh, I identify the metal. That bridge is made of aluminum, when it should be high-strength steel. Well, if I build it out of aluminum, but call it “high-strength steel,” it’s going to collapse. People are going to die.
“There are consequences when you deny reality. As an engineer I have to follow the actual rules, not these kind of new, made-up ones.”
Defiance Press founder Roberts reinforced the great need for people like Miceli to have their voices heard through children’s literature:
“Children books have a message,” Roberts said.
“So, these are becoming big in homeschool environments. It’s the parents, and even (believe it or not) the grandparents who are buying these books to get their [grand]kids, ’cause they’re really concerned that we’re losing our country.”
Miceli’s 16-year-old son David created the delightful illustrations which draw the message together. In this age of cancel culture, Miceli prefers to remain somewhat anonymous in order to protect his son’s future. According to Miceli, his children are even more conservative than he is, but he wants to give them the space to make that public stand when they are ready.
“My thought process was, well, he’s 16, he was 15 when he illustrated it, you know. So, is he even old enough to consent to some of the crap that’s coming his way? I I told him that I didn’t want that for him. What if he wants to go to college someday?”
He chose to be audio-only in this video interview. It’s a 15-minute conversation that is an inspiration for ordinary Americans. In our own way, we all can make a difference in the cultural conversation.
You can purchase Looks Like A Cheetah To Me on Amazon.com.