Congresswoman. Sharice Davids to Release Children’s Book

How Rep. Davids used her big voice to chart her own path

​

February 12, 2021

​

U.S. Congresswoman Sharice Davids’ debut children’s book will be released by HarperCollins on June 1, 2021. “Sharice’s Big Voice” is the autobiographical story of how Davids, a member of Ho-Chunk Nation, grew up to become one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress and the first LGBTQ+ representative from Kansas.

​

“Sharice’s Big Voice” was recently named to Here Wee Read’s 2021 List of Ultimate Diverse Children’s Books and Publisher Weekly’s New and Forthcoming Titles on Women, Girls and Empowerment. It was also selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. It is Davids’ first published book. 

​

“I thought that it would be great to show that everybody’s journey is different, but everybody’s journey can lead them to so many different places,” said Davids. “For me, I felt like I had a story that a lot of people might be able to understand and maybe even connect with.”

​

The book includes an author’s note, an artist's note and additional information about the Ho-Chunk Nation written by John Greendeer, former president of the Ho-Chunk Nation. 

​

“Sharice’s Big Voice” is co-written by Nancy K. Mays, a Kansas City-based author and instructor at the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism. The book is illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, an Ojibwe Woodland artist from Barrie, Ontario, and a member of Wasauksing, First Nation. 

​

The book is published by HarperCollins and is available for preorder here.