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Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids pens children’s book

Sharice Davids book cover.JPG
Posted at 2:52 PM, Mar 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-23 15:52:19-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rep. Sharice Davids hates onions on her pizza.

On the night she unseated Kevin Yoder to win a congressional seat in November, she ate macaroni and cheese with friends, family and her campaign team as she watched local news for the election returns.

Davids, a Democrat, revealed those details about herself in a forthcoming children’s book, "Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman,” which discusses her rise from a talkative Native American girl, who frequently moved around as part of a military family, to becoming the first lesbian congresswoman from Kansas.

“They thought I couldn’t win based on what I looked like, who I love, and where I started,” Davids said in the book, which describes the personality traits and life lessons that helped her succeed.

Davids, a native of Leavenworth, said she liked to talk as a child, but soon learned to listen. She describes the values instilled in her by her mother, a single parent who served in the Army, and her martial arts training, which was fueled by a love for Bruce Lee movies.

Eventually, Davids put herself through law school, discovered a passion for public service and spent some time as a mixed martial arts fighter before she was elected to represent Kansas’ 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I discovered that the best way to learn about people is to listen to them,” Davids said.

Children who listen to the lessons in Davids’ book will learn to:

  • Be open to challenges;
  • Work hard and you’ll learn a lot;
  • Listen to people. (But not the doubters!);
  • Use your big voice to fight for your beliefs;
  • You deserve to be seen — and heard.

Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, a member of the Wasauksing First Nation, illustrated the book, which HarperCollins Children’s Books is set to publish June 1.

Jon Greendeer, a former president of the Ho-Chunk Nation, wrote the history of the Native American tribe to which Davids’ family belongs, which is included in the book.