Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o & Vashti Harrison

Series: N/A
# of Pages: 48
Publication: October 1st 2019
Source: Library Copy
Genre: Picture Book
Goodreads | Amazon 
From Academy Award–winning actress Lupita Nyong’o comes a powerful, moving 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. In this stunning debut picture book, actress Lupita Nyong’o creates a whimsical and heartwarming story to inspire children to see their own unique beauty. fferently.




Oh my goodness. This is such a timely book. There are a lot of picture books that focus on children learning to build their self-esteem and how their self-worth shouldn't solely lie in their physical appearance; however, this is the first picture book where the writer directly addresses colorism and how it affects black individuals especially black girls and women. While my experience as a black woman has rarely been impacted by colorism, I have had friends and loved ones (specifically women) who have expressed how difficult it is to know and see that lighter/fairer skin black women were preferred. I have felt the same way in various situations, but because I fall somewhere in the middle, I have never experienced the bullying and shaming that a lot of darker skin women have faced. In 2019 it is sad to say that this still continues; however, it's great to know that Lupita and Vashti have created a book where young black girls and women have the opportunity to learn that they are more than just the darkness of their skin. 

I think that this book is phenomenal even if the story wasn't as strong or well-written as other picture books that I have encountered. The purpose and meaning of it was enough for me to consider giving it five stars. Lupita and Vashti explored a topic that I think is particularly important to the black community and one that may not be as well known to other cultures and races. There could have been more added to the fantastical element of the book to make Sulwe's understanding and appreciation of the color of her skin more apparent. The entire story becomes a little jumbled in this section. Nevertheless, the purpose and meaning behind the story remained intact. I would recommend this book to everyone, not just black girls and women. Colorism is a topic that impacts a lot of individuals on a global scale and is often over shadowed by racism. To learn and understand how this impacts children I would definitely recommend reading this book. This was definitely one of my favorite picture book reads of the year.


Share:

No comments:

Post a Comment