Sulwe

Sulwe
Author	Lupita Nyong'o
Illustrator	Vashti Harrison
Cover artist	Vashti Harrison
Genre	Children's literature
Published	2019
Publisher	Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date	October 15, 2019
Pages	48 pages
ISBN	1534425365
Website	Official Website

Last updated October 17, 2025

Sulwe is a children's New York Times bestselling picture book by actress Lupita Nyong'o. It follows the story of a young girl who wishes for her dark skin to be lighter. The story is ultimately about colorism and learning to love oneself, no matter one's skin tone.

Synopsis

Sulwe has the darkest skin in her family and in her school. She wishes for her skin to be lighter, but through a supernatural experience, she comes to love her dark skin color.^[3]^[4]^[5]

In media

Year	Outlet	Episode
October 8, 2019	The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	"Lupita Nyong'o Captures Her Struggle with Colorism in a Children's Book"
October 8, 2019	Newsnight	"Lupita Nyong’o on Racism, Colourism, and Justin Trudeau"
October 15, 2019	Live with Kelly and Ryan	"Lupita Nyong'o Talks About Her Children's Book, Sulwe"
October 15, 2019	Good Morning America	"Lupita Nyong'o shares powerful story behind new children's book, Sulwe"
September 1, 2020	Netflix Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices	"Lupita Nyong'o Reads Sulwe"

Film adaptation

In February 2021, Netflix announced an animated musical film adaptation based on the book, with Nyong'o attached as a producer on the film.^[6]

Controversy

In September 2021, Sulwe was pulled from classrooms in the Central York School District of Pennsylvania^[7] and from Duval Country, Florida in January of 2022.^[8]

References

↑ Nancy Agutu (1 October 2020). "Lupita's 'Sulwe book' coming to Kenya in Luo, English". The Star. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
↑ "Lupita's new book Sulwe to be translated to Kiswahili and Luo". Classic 105. 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
↑ Bussel, Rachel Kramer. "Lupita Nyong'o To Discuss Debut Children's Book 'Sulwe' In New York At BookExpo Author Breakfast". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
↑ Akinyoade, Akinwale (2019-10-02). "Lupita Nyong'o Addresses Colourism In Forthcoming Book, 'Sulwe'". guardian.ng. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
↑ Kelly, Jane (2019-09-24). "Hollywood Star Lupita Nyong'o Taps Best-Selling UVA Alumna for New Children's Book". UVA Today. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
↑ Rubin, Rebecca (2021-02-18). "Lupita Nyong'o Children's Book 'Sulwe' Getting Adapted Into Animated Netflix Musical". Variety . Retrieved 2021-02-18.
↑ "PEN America's Index of School Book Bans" (PDF). Pen America. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
↑ kanopi_admin (2022-12-07). "These 176 Books Were Banned in Duval County, Florida". PEN America. Retrieved 2025-10-16.

This article about a children's book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Nancy Agutu (1 October 2020). "Lupita's 'Sulwe book' coming to Kenya in Luo, English". The Star. Retrieved 2020-10-05.

[2] "Lupita's new book Sulwe to be translated to Kiswahili and Luo". Classic 105. 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2020-10-05.

[3] Bussel, Rachel Kramer. "Lupita Nyong'o To Discuss Debut Children's Book 'Sulwe' In New York At BookExpo Author Breakfast". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-10-13.

[4] Akinyoade, Akinwale (2019-10-02). "Lupita Nyong'o Addresses Colourism In Forthcoming Book, 'Sulwe'". guardian.ng. Retrieved 2019-10-13.

[5] Kelly, Jane (2019-09-24). "Hollywood Star Lupita Nyong'o Taps Best-Selling UVA Alumna for New Children's Book". UVA Today. Retrieved 2019-10-13.

[6] Rubin, Rebecca (2021-02-18). "Lupita Nyong'o Children's Book 'Sulwe' Getting Adapted Into Animated Netflix Musical". Variety . Retrieved 2021-02-18.

[7] "PEN America's Index of School Book Bans" (PDF). Pen America. Retrieved October 16, 2025.

[8] _admin (2022-12-07). "These 176 Books Were Banned in Duval County, Florida". PEN America. Retrieved 2025-10-16.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children
1990s	Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales and True Tales – Virginia Hamilton (1995) No Award (1996) No Award (1997) Let My People Go: Bible Stories Told by a Freeman of Color – Patricia McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack Jr. (1998) No Award If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks – Faith Ringgold (1999)
2000s	Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children – Sandra Pinkney (2000) Just the Two of Us – Will Smith (2001) Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales – Nelson Mandela (2002) My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – Christine King Farris (2003) The 1963 Civil Rights March – Sabrina Crewe (2004) Girls Hold Up This World – Jada Pinkett Smith (2005) Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom – Carole Boston Weatherford (2006) Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson – Sue Stauffacher (2007) Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope – Nikki Grimes (2008) Our Children Can Soar – Michelle Cook (2009)
2010s	My Brother Charlie – Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete (2010) You Can Be a Friend – Tony and Lauren Dungy (2011) What Color is My World – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Raymond Obstfeld (2012) Nelson Mandela – Kadir Nelson (2013) Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After – Rachel Renée Russell (2014) Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America – Carole Boston Weatherford (2015) Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas – Gwendolyn Hooks (2016) Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History – Vashti Harrison (2017) Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race – Margot Lee Shetterly (2018) Sulwe – Lupita Nyong'o (2019)
2020s	She Was the First!: The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm – Katheryn Russell-Brown (2020) Stacey’s Extraordinary Words – Stacey Abrams (2021) Stacey’s Remarkable Books – Stacey Abrams (2022) Crowned: Magical Folk and Fairy Tales from the Diaspora – Kahran Bethencourt (2023) You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!): A Lil TJ Book – Taraji P. Henson and Paul Kellam (2024)