Sulwe
Ratings22
Average rating4.6
I came across this while searching at B&N for a book to give to my two-year-old niece for her birthday, because I'm That Auntie. Sulwe is a sweet picture book on colorism and learning to love yourself and the magic of both light and dark being necessary for the world. It was lovely.
Lindíssimo, puro, necessário, tratando de temas seríssimos com uma delicadeza impar.
Finding beauty in all hues of black skin. A family has a mixture of black skin tones from dark to lighter, everyone described beautifully. Sulwe has the darkest and gets made fun of for it. She is very sensitive and wishes to have light brown skin like her popular sister...Mother understands her feelings and tells her a fairy tale about the day and night sisters, in honor of their greatness her name means star!
Pretty illustrations, great analogy. But I think the language might be a bit too difficult for children, its main target audience, to digest.
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My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy ⬅️⬅️
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.
Read Harder Challenge 2020 Task #18 Read a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community
Beautiful book - both the story and the illustrations - Strongly recommend!
What a beautiful book both in story and illustrations. A must-have for every family and classroom!
Now, I am white, I know nothing about being darker shade of black. I have only heard that some people with dark skin think being darker is bad and wish they were lighter. In that I can't relate to Sulwe or Lupita.
But white people come in different shades too, and different shapes. I grew up wanting to look like my mother and my big sister. They were beautiful. I don't look like them. I have always felt ugly. So, there I can relate.
But... I have always tried to compensate for being ugly. I have always felt I have to be nicer and kinder and give more, and pay for being ugly. That I HAVE to have “inner light”, I HAVE to be good, I HAVE to shine. I am not good enough as I am, I have to be better - because I'm ugly. And that's not right.
The society doesn't give a crap about your “inner light”.
Yes, you'll have a handful of people who will see beyond the skin and love you for who you are, but it still hurts.
Yes, you will get used to being treated worse, but it still smarts.
But - Lupita is right about one thing. The only thing that matters is how I feel about myself and what worth I give to myself. Beautiful people have their own problems.
A magnificent celebration of the beauty of dark skin is told through the story of little Sulwe, a girl whose skin color is darker than anyone else in her family. Sulwe tries to do anything she can to change the color of her skin, but nothing works. Sulwe finds comfort from a story shared to her by a shooting star, a story that reveals the importance of both dark and light.
This is a story that should be shared with others.