Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o’s New York Times bestselling picture book, Sulwe, is coming to Netflix as an animated musical feature film.
Beyond being a New York Times Bestseller, Sulwe has also received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award as well as an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children’s Literary Work. The book tells the story of Sulwe, a young girl with skin the color of midnight, as she goes on a journey in the night sky that opens her eyes to the fact that being dark is just as beautiful as being light.
Netflix has already featured Sulwe on their original show Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices!, with Nyong’o reading her book for the audience. Creating an animated musical based on the book is a great next step, as the illustrations will translate beautifully to animation and the storytelling style is well suited for a musical.
For Lupita Nyong’o this story is special. She was uncomfortable in her own skin growing up, particularly given that she rarely saw herself in the people she saw in the media. According to Nyong’o, this story is meant to be a remind herself, and children like her, that even if you feel different or unseen you are beautiful and have value. This heartwarming story is aided by Vashti Harrison’s absolutely gorgeous illustrations and is a must have for any child’s library.
