SULWE written by the nationally- honored actress Lupita Nyong’o and illustrated by the highly-praised visual artist Vashti Harrison is a very special picture book about a young child’s struggle with self-esteem , isolation and name calling due to the fact that her skin is darker than any of her brothers, sisters , family members and classmates.
This beautiful book in both words and pictures contains a story within a story. The first tells of Sulwe’s dislike for the pitch-dark color of her skin and her efforts to lighten the shade with her Mom’s make-up, eating certain foods and praying for help. When her Mom realizes the extent of Sulwe’s unhappiness she tells her she is beautiful, that beauty is from within and reminds her that her name means star.
Then one night a shooting star appears at Sulwe’s window and takes her into the night sky and tells her the second story: a tale of two ancient sisters, Day and Night. Day, gold and glittery, is loved by all. When the people call Night ugly names Night decides to leave. Without Night, however, the people can only experience long days without an end. They become tired, exhausted and angry. They soon realize they need the beauty and calm of Night’s silver sheen.
Day searches for her sister Night and brings her back by telling her that when she is darkest is when she is also the most beautiful. This story is wise and the illustrations are captivating. When the sisters are reunited “a little bit of Night returned to Day in the form of shadows. And a little bit of Day returned to Night in the form of moonlight.”
SULWE written by Lupita Nyong’o and illustrated by Vashti Harrison is a powerful story about beauty, self-love, acceptance and colorism for children 5-8 years of age (Simon and Schuster, 2019).
Activity questions for SULWE
The author of this book has beautiful night-shaded skin and says in the Author’s Note that she had to learn that she was beautiful on both the outside and the inside. Do you have night-shaded skin? Have you ever disregarded someone who has night-shaded skin? Think about it. Are you beautiful on the inside? Think about your actions and feelings toward other people that show that you are beautiful on the inside? Why is it important?
Take a large piece of drawing paper and fold it down through the middle. On one side draw a picture of all the things that you like about day. (For instance, you could include such things as playing outdoors, talking to friends, eating lunch and enjoying the sun). Then draw a picture of things that you like about the night. (For instance, you could include taking a bath, feeding a pet, reading a bedtime story and looking at the night sky). Think about it before you start your split-page drawing in honor of both Day and Night. Be sure to draw as many details as you can.
