Editions

Sulwe

  • Imprint: Puffin

  • ISBN: 9780241394328

  • Length: 48  Pages

  • Dimensions: 297mm x 11mm x 237mm

  • Weight: 613g

  • RRP: £12.99

Sulwe

The New York Times Number 1 Bestseller

From Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o comes a powerful, moving picture book about colourism, self-esteem and learning that true beauty comes from within.

Sulwe's skin is the colour of midnight. She's darker than everyone in her family, and everyone at school.

All she wants is to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister.

Then a magical journey through the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything.

In this stunning debut picture book, Lupita Nyong'o creates a whimsical and heartwarming story to inspire children to see their own unique beauty.

  • Imprint: Puffin

  • ISBN: 9780241394328

  • Length: 48  Pages

  • Dimensions: 297mm x 11mm x 237mm

  • Weight: 613g

  • RRP: £12.99

Reviews

  • A thoughtfully layered text and powerful illustrations address this sensitive topic in a uniquely nurturing way

    Kirkus Starred Review

  • By turns beguiling (as when Sulwe's mother counsels her tearful daughter) and magical (a shooting star darts into Sulwe's room to share the story of Night and Day), the volume also clearly conveys that colorism is real, and it hurts. Sulwe's story confronts it head-on, with words and images that celebrate the 'dark and beautiful, bright and strong.'

    Publishers Weekly, starred review

  • A welcome celebration of Black girls, an important lesson for all kids (and grownups), and a necessary message for any child who has been made to feel unworthy of love on account of their looks

    Booklist

  • Darkest in her family, Sulwe believes that her skin makes her unattractive and prays to be lighter, but when a shooting star tells her the story of sisters Night and Day, she finally understands that she doesn't need to change. Harrison's star-flecked glimmering illustrations evoke Night's mysterious beauty.

    Guardian

About the Author

Lupita Nyong'o

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 most recently 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.

Lupita Nyong'o

Vashti Harrison

Vashti Harrison earned her MFA in Film/Video from CalArts and BA from the University of Virginia. Her experimental films and documentaries have shown around the world at film festivals. After a brief stint in television as a production coordinator, she is now a freelance graphic designer and a picture-book illustrator. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

Vashti Harrison

Read more

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Features

Charlie Mackesy among artists creating charity prints to celebrate Penguin’s 85th birthday

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse creator joins Dapo Adeola, Coralie Bickford-Smith, Jackie Morris and Vashti Harrison to raise funds for the National Literacy Trust.
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Why representational role models in books matter | Vashti Harrison

Author of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, Vashti Harrison discusses the importance of profiling diverse heroes, role models, and everyday women in books.
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Inspiration

5 inspirational female role models from black history

Get to know these five extraordinary figures from black history – they were brave, they were bold, they changed the world!

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