Idaho’s Pluckiest Christian Publisher Offers a Colorful Storybook Romp 

Crispin wants to reclaim the legendary Lightning Blade. His sister Rose wants to host a nice picnic. Whose plan will win out?  

In the swashbuckling romp that is “Crispin’s Rainy Day“, Crispin charges off into a grand adventure, in which he leads his pirate crew on a daring quest. To his annoyance, his sister Rose follows him into his imaginary world. Rejected by Crispin, she finds the pirate ship to be in poor shape for a picnic and sets to work cleaning and preparing a cake. But when the adventure really takes a dark turn, Crispin learns what his sister really brings to the table.  

The book is written in well-crafted and witty rhyme, but the standout star here is the artwork. Forrest Dickison’s watercolor style, reminiscent of Japanese animation, gives the story its vibrant life. The use of light, color, and dramatic framing bring the heaving ocean of Crispin’s world into almost cinematic focus.  

Some corners of the internet are shocked that a picture book would depict a young girl seeing value in baking, hosting, and caring for others. Indeed, even her brothers and his friends are dismissive at first. But the story’s lesson is that these are good and noble pursuits in and of themselves. We denigrate them at our peril. Good for Rose. 

Not that Canon Press, a Christian publisher located in Moscow, Idaho, shies away from the transgressive. In business since 1988, it was founded as an outgrowth of Doug Wilson’s Christ Church and is now a private company. Wilson remains a co-owner of Canon Press and his Reformed theology still forms the keystone of the organization’s ethos. All of Christ for all of life!  

The company’s ‘About Us’ page reads:

The Christian life should include theology in the car, hard work in the classroom, stories with uproarious laughter and goose pimply danger, sore muscles on the construction site, and the joyful destruction of idols in our hearts and on the internet.  

For children, Canon Press features a number of other children’s books, including N.D. Wilson’s “Blah Blah Black Sheep” and Rachel Jankovic’s “Sir Bad-a-lot and the Cranky Danky Dragon,” both illustrated by Forrest Dickison.  

The offerings for adults are designed to challenge norms about parenting, architecture, masculinity, government, and cannabis. Among many others.  

The press also produces a classical homeschool curriculum, under the title of Logos Press, that includes courses in logic, rhetoric, literature, and many others. For folks with an aversion to paper between their fingers, you can also download Canon+, an app stocked with shows, movies, audiobooks, and other content.   

“Crispin’s Rainy Day” is written for children age 3-6.

This review is part of a series highlighting emerging young adult and children’s literature for conservative families. If you have a work or publisher to recommend, please contact the author at mark.guiney@heritage.org. 

The post Idaho’s Pluckiest Christian Publisher Offers a Colorful Storybook Romp  appeared first on The Daily Signal.