Like we always ask, what can’t Lupita Nyong’o, Kenya’s finest export to Hollywood, do? The Academy-Award winning actress is now set to showcase her literary skills in a forthcoming children’s book.
Titled ‘Sulwe’, which is Luo(Lupita’s native language) for “star” is the story of a five-year-old girl growing up in Kenya. In the picture book, Sulwe has the darkest skin complexion in her family, a fact that makes her uncomfortable and determined to find a way to lighten her skin.
As the story unfolds, Sulwe embarks on an adventure in the night sky that, coupled with advice from her mother, helps her see beauty differently.
Like Sulwe, Lupita Nyong’o struggled with her skin colour as a child and candidly acknowledged being self-conscious about it in a moving ‘Black Women in Hollywood’ speech in 2014.
With ‘Sulwe’, Lupita hopes to target children aged between 5 and 7.
On social media, Lupita revealed the book will be getting published in January 2019.
“I am pleased to reveal that I have written a children’s book! It’s called “Sulwe”! Sulwe is a dark-skinned girl who goes on a starry-eyed adventure, and awakens with a reimagined sense of beauty. She encounters lessons that we learn as children and spend our lives unlearning. This is a story for little ones, but no matter the age I hope it serves as an inspiration for everyone to walk with joy in their own skin. Coming January 2019!”
