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Lupita Nyong’o to Publish Children’s Book

Lupita Nyong’o is adding author to her resume by writing her own children’s book.

The Oscar-winning actress has penned a novel called Sulwe, which means “star” in her native language Luo, about a five-year-girl growing up in Kenya with the darkest skin color in her family. Her appearance gets her down and she wants to find a way to lighten her skin, but that changes when she embarks on “a whimsical adventure in the night sky”.

The 34-year-old hopes Sulwe will help youngsters feel comfortable in their own skin, and learn to accept themselves the way they are.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BeEYScrDtFP/?hl=en&taken-by=lupitanyongo

“I am pleased to reveal that I have written a children’s book!” the 12 Years a Slave star wrote on Instagram. “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!!”

Lupita told The New York Times she hopes the book will plant the seeds in a younger minds as it teaches them lessons children “don’t necessarily recognize when they are reading the books.”

The Star Wars actress, who will release Sulwe with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, struggled with the same issues as Sulwe growing up, as she was aware of her darker complexion compared to her “brown and pretty” lighter-skinned sister.

She opened up about it for the first time during an acceptance speech at Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood luncheon in 2014, and her words made global headlines.

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“I felt really grateful that it had this impact,” she told the publication. “And at that time it occurred to me that there was an audience that this was resonating with, but the age group that really needed to hear this wouldn’t necessarily hear the speech.”

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