Sulwe

Nyong'o, L. (2019). Sulwe. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Genre: Picture Book Fiction

    This book doesn't discuss racism per se but rather it discusses colorism. Sulwe is the darkest person in her family and at school. She is called rude nicknames and she doesn't make a lot of friends like her lighter-skinned sister. She tries to make her skin lighter by erasing it, wearing her mother's lighter makeup, and even eating light foods. She confides in her mother one night and her mother tells her that she's beautiful and she has to find that beauty within herself. One night a shooting star came in her window and tells her the story of the night. Day and Night were sisters, but while Day was treated wonderfully, people hated Night. So Night went away and Day became too long and too hot. Day searched for Night and convinced her to return. When she did the people loved her and rejoiced. Sulwe woke up the next morning loving her dark skin, finding the beauty within herself. The author, Lupita Nyong'o writes this book from her own experiences and her own journey to find beauty in her dark skin. She wrote this book to show other children with dark skin to find their own inner beauty.