[Review] Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o

Title: Sulwe
Author: Lupita Nyong'o
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publishing Date: October 1st, 2019
Pages: 48


A picture book about colorism, self-esteem, and learning that true beauty comes from within.

Sulwe has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything.

5 Triquetras!

My goodness this book is amazing. Vashti Harrison's illustrations absolutely make this book, and are breathtaking to say the least.

The narrative itself is so incredibly important for young black girls, I cannot get enough of this book. Sulwe has always compared herself and her skin color to her family's. She cannot understand why she is the color of midnight when her mother is dawn, her father dusk, and her sister high noon. (I mean, come ON, the poetry of this!)

After going on a journey and hearing a story about Night and Day, Sulwe realizes that she is absolutely perfect the way she is, and I hope all young girls are able to read this story. 

About the Author

Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in the film 12 Years a Slave, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as multiple accolades, including the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Critics’ Choice Award, the Independent Spirit Award, and the NAACP Award. She has since starred in Mira Nair’s Queen of Katwe, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ryan Coogler’s record-breaking box office hit Black Panther, and in Jordan’s Peele’s critically acclaimed horror film Us. Nyong’o earned a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in Danai Gurira’s play Eclipsed. She lives in Brooklyn.