Oscar-winning actress
Lupita
Nyong'o has written a children's book called "Sulwe" which will be published Next year January.
Sulwe is a Luo term which means 'The Star'. Sulwe is a dark-skinned girl who goes on a starry-eyed adventure and awakens with a re-imagined
sense of beauty.
"I am pleased to reveal I have written a children's book," Lupita said via Instagram on Wednesday night adding that the story is of the 5-year-old girl growing up in Kenya.
In the book, Sulwe has the darkest skin colour in her family making her uncomfortable and determined to find a way to lighten her skin.
Sulwe embarks on an exciting adventure in the night sky coupled with advice from her mother which
helps her see beauty differently.
"She encounters lessons that we learn as children and spend our lives unlearning," Lupita said.
"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."
Like Sulwe, Lupita has been
teased and called awful names such as 'black mamba' before making it to Hollywood.
The Oscar winnong actress said her complexion made it harder for boyfriends to attend social gatherings with her.
"I got stood up at my prom. He did not show up. I was always confident but I shed tears," she said. The actor won an Oscar award for her role in the movie '12 Years a Slave'.
In November last year,
Lupita hit back at a UK magazine for allegedly lightening her skin and editing her hairstyle on their cover.
Lupita posted on Twitter a copy of Grazia's cover together with two photos from the shoot.
On the magazine cover, Lupita's ponytail is cropped out and her skin appears lighter.
"Disappointed that
@GraziaUK
edited out and smoothed my hair to fit a more Eurocentric notion of what beautiful hair looks like," Lupita said via Twitter on Friday.