Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, a chapter book series about women who spoke up and rose up against the odds—including Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris!

Kamala Harris always wanted to help people and solve problems. Even as a young girl, she helped her community create changes that would impact all their lives for the better. When she grew up, Kamala wanted to continue helping people, so she worked hard and became a lawyer and a senator to do just that. Then she went on to become the first woman to ever be vice president of the United States—and possibly the first woman to become president too! Through it all, Kamala continues to do her best to help as many people as she can, and she inspires people everywhere to help others as well.

In this chapter book biography by acclaimed author Raakhee Mirchandani, readers learn about the amazing life of Kamala Harris—and how she persisted

Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Kamala Harris's footsteps and make a difference! A perfect choice for kids who love learning and teachers who want to bring inspiring women into their curriculum.

And don’t miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted, including Sonia Sotomayor, Deb Haaland, Patsy Mink, Rachel Levine, and more!
© Kim Lorraine Photography
Raakhee Mirchandani (RaakstarWrites.com) is a journalist, children's book author, activist, and mom. Her work has appeared in Elle, Glamour, The Wall Street Journal, Redbook, HuffPo, Moneyish, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and the Boston Herald, and her books include She Persisted: Kalpana Chawla, Kamala Raised Her Hand, Journey to the Stars, Hair Twins, Super Satya Saves the Day, and My Diwali Light. When she isn't writing or working on her podcast, Raakhee is either organizing her bookshelves, running races to raise money for the fight against pediatric cancer, or styling her very curly hair with new oils and potions. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with her husband and daughter. You can follow her on Twitter @Raakstar and on Instagram @RaakstarWrites. View titles by Raakhee Mirchandani
© Photo courtesy of the author
Chelsea Clinton is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World; She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History; She Persisted in Sports: American Olympians Who Changed the Game; She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference; Don't Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe; Welcome to the Big Kids Club; It's Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!; Start Now!: You Can Make a Difference; with Hillary Clinton, Grandma's Gardens and Gutsy Women; and, with Devi Sridhar, Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? She is also the Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, where she works on many initiatives, including those that help empower the next generation of leaders. She lives in New York City with her husband, Marc, and their children. You can follow Chelsea Clinton on Twitter @ChelseaClinton or on Facebook at facebook.com/ChelseaClinton. View titles by Chelsea Clinton
© Vanessa Blasich
Alexandra Boiger (AlexandraBoiger.com) has illustrated nearly twenty picture books, including the She Persisted series by by Chelsea Clinton; the popular Tallulah series by Marilyn Singer; and the Max and Marla books, which she also wrote. Originally from Munich, Germany, she now lives outside of San Francisco, California, with her husband, Andrea; daughter, Vanessa; and two cats, Luiso and Winter. You can follow Alexandra on Instagram @alexandra_boiger. View titles by Alexandra Boiger
Jessica W. Clark (JessicaWClark.com) grew up in Rexburg, Idaho, and earned her BFA in illustration from BYU-Idaho. Jessica spent several years in Europe, where she discovered a love of architecture, photography, and art history. Now Jessica lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and five children. Having five children has helped her keep the magic in her life, and she likes to transfer those everyday magical memories into her illustrations. You can follow Jessica on Instagram @JessicaWClarkIllustration. View titles by Jessica W. Clark
Chapter 1
Truth to Power

Before the iconic pearls and pantsuits—and before groundbreaking runs for office that would change American history and politics—Kamala Devi Harris was a little girl in California, sitting in a stroller while her parents protested in support of civil rights and freedom. Kamala learned from a very early age the importance of using your voice to spark change. She saw firsthand the power people have when they come together in support of something they believe in.

Kamala Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, to Shyamala Gopalan Harris and Donald Harris. It was the same year that the Civil Rights Act was passed. The Civil Rights Act is a law that aims to make sure people cannot be discriminated against because of their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, including in the workplace.

Kamala’s mother, Shyamala, was an Indian immigrant who moved to California for graduate school. She was a brilliant student, and she was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley, to study nutrition and endocrinology. She would later become a very respected breast cancer researcher. (Endocrinology is the study of the endocrine system. The endocrine system controls the hormones in your body, which help make your body work properly.)

Kamala’s father, Donald, was also a brilliant student. Born in Jamaica in 1938, he immigrated to America to attend UC Berkeley, too. He studied economics and later taught that subject at Stanford University. Shyamala and Donald met during a time in American history when many people were protesting against war and racial injustice. Both Donald and Shyamala cared deeply about these causes and the way Black Americans were being treated, and they spent their time learning, reading, and talking to other people who felt similarly to them, and organizing against things they thought were unfair and unjust.

The two met and bonded over their shared values and vision for what America—and their community—could be. And after they got married and had children, they made sure their daughters, Kamala and her younger sister, Maya, were a part of that fight, too.

Like her parents, Kamala knew what was fair and unfair. And when things felt wrong to her, she spoke up and did something about it.

In kindergarten, when a bully flung her friend Stacey’s clay art project to the floor, little Kamala stood up for her friend. The bully was so mad, he hit Kamala on the head. She still has a scar over one eye from that day. But Kamala knew that being an upstander, not a bystander, was important. An upstander is a person who chooses to support someone who is being harmed by standing up for them, not just watching.

“I was born a Black child in America, the child of parents who were marching and shouting, just like all the folks who have been marching and shouting,” Kamala said later in her life. “From my childhood, I was there in a stroller in the streets, marching. It’s just what I do. It’s what I believe in. I don’t know any other way.”

Music was also a big part of the Harris household. Kamala’s mom liked gospel, and she sang along to Aretha Franklin and the Edwin Hawkins Singers, especially when she cooked, something she loved to do. She would make okra, sometimes in an Indian style, with turmeric and mustard seeds, and sometimes as a gumbo with soul food flavoring, by adding dried shrimp and sausage. Shyamala had a great voice and had even won a singing award when she was in India. And as Shyamala sang at home, Kamala would join in, singing and dancing to Aretha’s version of Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.” Donald loved jazz and filled the air with tunes from Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis.

Like Shyamala, Kamala’s maternal grandparents—her mother’s parents—believed in participating in political and social change in their community. Her grandmother, Rajam Gopalan, took care of women in her village and educated them about women’s health issues. She also was known to speak up about abuse against women and in support of women’s healthcare, even if it meant calling their husbands and telling them to “shape up.” Kamala’s grandfather, P. V. Gopalan, was part of India’s independence movement and became a senior diplomat in the Indian government. Rajam and P. V. even moved to Zambia for a time to help settle refugees. Serving people and their communities was a big part of the Gopalan family’s values, ones that would shape Kamala’s life for decades to come.

“My mother inherited my grandmother’s strength and courage. People who knew them knew not to mess with either. And from both of my grandparents, my mother developed a keen political consciousness. She was conscious of history, conscious of struggle, and conscious of inequities,” Kamala said. “She was born with a sense of justice imprinted on her soul.”

When Kamala was seven years old and Maya was just a toddler, their parents got divorced. The girls lived with their mother in East Bay near San Francisco and spent weekends and summers with their father in Palo Alto, also in the Bay Area. They visited their father’s family in Jamaica and their mother’s family in India. The Harris girls were surrounded by friends, relatives, and chosen family, who built their strong sense of identity.

At Thousand Oaks Elementary School, Kamala was in Mrs. Wilson’s first-grade classroom. It wasn’t until years later that Kamala learned her school was part of a national experiment in desegregation. Desegregation meant that kids from Kamala’s mostly working-class Black neighborhood took the bus to go to school with kids in wealthier, white neighborhoods—and sometimes the other way around—in an effort to make the school populations more diverse. After school, while Shyamala was still at the lab working on important research, the Harris sisters would head over to the Sheltons’ house for an after-school program. The warm home—with posters of Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman on the walls—left a lasting impact on Kamala. Mrs. Shelton was a mother figure to Kamala, too.

Once, Kamala spent an afternoon baking lemon bars. They looked picture perfect, and she couldn’t wait to show them off. She proudly brought them over to share with her mom, Mrs. Shelton, and another neighborhood friend who they called Aunt Bea. They were having tea together. But Kamala realized something wasn’t right when Mrs. Shelton’s lips puckered.

“Mmmm, honey,” Mrs. Shelton said. “That’s delicious . . . maybe a little too much salt . . . but really delicious.” Kamala had mistakenly used salt instead of sugar! But instead of feeling like a failure, Kamala knew she had done a great job; she had just made a mistake. And her confidence continued to grow.

Kamala’s bond with her mother was also growing stronger every day. Shyamala’s strength, leadership, toughness, and work ethic inspired her daughters. She was a mama on a mission: to raise two confident and proud Black daughters and to help end breast cancer.
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About

Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, a chapter book series about women who spoke up and rose up against the odds—including Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris!

Kamala Harris always wanted to help people and solve problems. Even as a young girl, she helped her community create changes that would impact all their lives for the better. When she grew up, Kamala wanted to continue helping people, so she worked hard and became a lawyer and a senator to do just that. Then she went on to become the first woman to ever be vice president of the United States—and possibly the first woman to become president too! Through it all, Kamala continues to do her best to help as many people as she can, and she inspires people everywhere to help others as well.

In this chapter book biography by acclaimed author Raakhee Mirchandani, readers learn about the amazing life of Kamala Harris—and how she persisted

Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton, black-and-white illustrations throughout, and a list of ways that readers can follow in Kamala Harris's footsteps and make a difference! A perfect choice for kids who love learning and teachers who want to bring inspiring women into their curriculum.

And don’t miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted, including Sonia Sotomayor, Deb Haaland, Patsy Mink, Rachel Levine, and more!

Author

© Kim Lorraine Photography
Raakhee Mirchandani (RaakstarWrites.com) is a journalist, children's book author, activist, and mom. Her work has appeared in Elle, Glamour, The Wall Street Journal, Redbook, HuffPo, Moneyish, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and the Boston Herald, and her books include She Persisted: Kalpana Chawla, Kamala Raised Her Hand, Journey to the Stars, Hair Twins, Super Satya Saves the Day, and My Diwali Light. When she isn't writing or working on her podcast, Raakhee is either organizing her bookshelves, running races to raise money for the fight against pediatric cancer, or styling her very curly hair with new oils and potions. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with her husband and daughter. You can follow her on Twitter @Raakstar and on Instagram @RaakstarWrites. View titles by Raakhee Mirchandani
© Photo courtesy of the author
Chelsea Clinton is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World; She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History; She Persisted in Sports: American Olympians Who Changed the Game; She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference; Don't Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe; Welcome to the Big Kids Club; It's Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!; Start Now!: You Can Make a Difference; with Hillary Clinton, Grandma's Gardens and Gutsy Women; and, with Devi Sridhar, Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why? She is also the Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, where she works on many initiatives, including those that help empower the next generation of leaders. She lives in New York City with her husband, Marc, and their children. You can follow Chelsea Clinton on Twitter @ChelseaClinton or on Facebook at facebook.com/ChelseaClinton. View titles by Chelsea Clinton
© Vanessa Blasich
Alexandra Boiger (AlexandraBoiger.com) has illustrated nearly twenty picture books, including the She Persisted series by by Chelsea Clinton; the popular Tallulah series by Marilyn Singer; and the Max and Marla books, which she also wrote. Originally from Munich, Germany, she now lives outside of San Francisco, California, with her husband, Andrea; daughter, Vanessa; and two cats, Luiso and Winter. You can follow Alexandra on Instagram @alexandra_boiger. View titles by Alexandra Boiger
Jessica W. Clark (JessicaWClark.com) grew up in Rexburg, Idaho, and earned her BFA in illustration from BYU-Idaho. Jessica spent several years in Europe, where she discovered a love of architecture, photography, and art history. Now Jessica lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and five children. Having five children has helped her keep the magic in her life, and she likes to transfer those everyday magical memories into her illustrations. You can follow Jessica on Instagram @JessicaWClarkIllustration. View titles by Jessica W. Clark

Excerpt

Chapter 1
Truth to Power

Before the iconic pearls and pantsuits—and before groundbreaking runs for office that would change American history and politics—Kamala Devi Harris was a little girl in California, sitting in a stroller while her parents protested in support of civil rights and freedom. Kamala learned from a very early age the importance of using your voice to spark change. She saw firsthand the power people have when they come together in support of something they believe in.

Kamala Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, to Shyamala Gopalan Harris and Donald Harris. It was the same year that the Civil Rights Act was passed. The Civil Rights Act is a law that aims to make sure people cannot be discriminated against because of their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, including in the workplace.

Kamala’s mother, Shyamala, was an Indian immigrant who moved to California for graduate school. She was a brilliant student, and she was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley, to study nutrition and endocrinology. She would later become a very respected breast cancer researcher. (Endocrinology is the study of the endocrine system. The endocrine system controls the hormones in your body, which help make your body work properly.)

Kamala’s father, Donald, was also a brilliant student. Born in Jamaica in 1938, he immigrated to America to attend UC Berkeley, too. He studied economics and later taught that subject at Stanford University. Shyamala and Donald met during a time in American history when many people were protesting against war and racial injustice. Both Donald and Shyamala cared deeply about these causes and the way Black Americans were being treated, and they spent their time learning, reading, and talking to other people who felt similarly to them, and organizing against things they thought were unfair and unjust.

The two met and bonded over their shared values and vision for what America—and their community—could be. And after they got married and had children, they made sure their daughters, Kamala and her younger sister, Maya, were a part of that fight, too.

Like her parents, Kamala knew what was fair and unfair. And when things felt wrong to her, she spoke up and did something about it.

In kindergarten, when a bully flung her friend Stacey’s clay art project to the floor, little Kamala stood up for her friend. The bully was so mad, he hit Kamala on the head. She still has a scar over one eye from that day. But Kamala knew that being an upstander, not a bystander, was important. An upstander is a person who chooses to support someone who is being harmed by standing up for them, not just watching.

“I was born a Black child in America, the child of parents who were marching and shouting, just like all the folks who have been marching and shouting,” Kamala said later in her life. “From my childhood, I was there in a stroller in the streets, marching. It’s just what I do. It’s what I believe in. I don’t know any other way.”

Music was also a big part of the Harris household. Kamala’s mom liked gospel, and she sang along to Aretha Franklin and the Edwin Hawkins Singers, especially when she cooked, something she loved to do. She would make okra, sometimes in an Indian style, with turmeric and mustard seeds, and sometimes as a gumbo with soul food flavoring, by adding dried shrimp and sausage. Shyamala had a great voice and had even won a singing award when she was in India. And as Shyamala sang at home, Kamala would join in, singing and dancing to Aretha’s version of Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.” Donald loved jazz and filled the air with tunes from Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis.

Like Shyamala, Kamala’s maternal grandparents—her mother’s parents—believed in participating in political and social change in their community. Her grandmother, Rajam Gopalan, took care of women in her village and educated them about women’s health issues. She also was known to speak up about abuse against women and in support of women’s healthcare, even if it meant calling their husbands and telling them to “shape up.” Kamala’s grandfather, P. V. Gopalan, was part of India’s independence movement and became a senior diplomat in the Indian government. Rajam and P. V. even moved to Zambia for a time to help settle refugees. Serving people and their communities was a big part of the Gopalan family’s values, ones that would shape Kamala’s life for decades to come.

“My mother inherited my grandmother’s strength and courage. People who knew them knew not to mess with either. And from both of my grandparents, my mother developed a keen political consciousness. She was conscious of history, conscious of struggle, and conscious of inequities,” Kamala said. “She was born with a sense of justice imprinted on her soul.”

When Kamala was seven years old and Maya was just a toddler, their parents got divorced. The girls lived with their mother in East Bay near San Francisco and spent weekends and summers with their father in Palo Alto, also in the Bay Area. They visited their father’s family in Jamaica and their mother’s family in India. The Harris girls were surrounded by friends, relatives, and chosen family, who built their strong sense of identity.

At Thousand Oaks Elementary School, Kamala was in Mrs. Wilson’s first-grade classroom. It wasn’t until years later that Kamala learned her school was part of a national experiment in desegregation. Desegregation meant that kids from Kamala’s mostly working-class Black neighborhood took the bus to go to school with kids in wealthier, white neighborhoods—and sometimes the other way around—in an effort to make the school populations more diverse. After school, while Shyamala was still at the lab working on important research, the Harris sisters would head over to the Sheltons’ house for an after-school program. The warm home—with posters of Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman on the walls—left a lasting impact on Kamala. Mrs. Shelton was a mother figure to Kamala, too.

Once, Kamala spent an afternoon baking lemon bars. They looked picture perfect, and she couldn’t wait to show them off. She proudly brought them over to share with her mom, Mrs. Shelton, and another neighborhood friend who they called Aunt Bea. They were having tea together. But Kamala realized something wasn’t right when Mrs. Shelton’s lips puckered.

“Mmmm, honey,” Mrs. Shelton said. “That’s delicious . . . maybe a little too much salt . . . but really delicious.” Kamala had mistakenly used salt instead of sugar! But instead of feeling like a failure, Kamala knew she had done a great job; she had just made a mistake. And her confidence continued to grow.

Kamala’s bond with her mother was also growing stronger every day. Shyamala’s strength, leadership, toughness, and work ethic inspired her daughters. She was a mama on a mission: to raise two confident and proud Black daughters and to help end breast cancer.

Photos

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