Status
Available
Publication
PENGUIN (2021), Edition: 01
Library's review
With the help of a legend about Day and Night, a dark-skinned black child learns that she is beautiful inside and out.
Sulwe is “the color of midnight,” the darkest in her multihued family, and is teased in school. She tries everything to lighten her skin: an eraser, makeup, eating light foods,
A thoughtfully layered text and powerful illustrations address this sensitive topic in a uniquely nurturing way. (Picture book. 4-9)
Sulwe is “the color of midnight,” the darkest in her multihued family, and is teased in school. She tries everything to lighten her skin: an eraser, makeup, eating light foods,
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prayer. Her mother tells her she is beautiful and that her name, Sulwe, or “star,” refers to an inner brightness, but she can’t see it in herself. Then a shooting star comes to her window, sent by the night, and brings Sulwe out to tell her about Night and Day, two sisters who loved each other but were treated differently. When Night left after people called her names like “scary,” “bad,” and “ugly,” the people realized that they needed her. The stars added that “some light can only be seen in the dark.” After learning how Night and Day are both needed, Sulwe knows that she is “dark and beautiful, bright and strong.” Harrison’s glossy illustrations faithfully render the features of black people, allowing the beauty of different skin tones to shine, with deep purple tones in the darkness, reinforcing the story’s message. In an author’s note, Nyong’o shares her own past struggles with her complexion.A thoughtfully layered text and powerful illustrations address this sensitive topic in a uniquely nurturing way. (Picture book. 4-9)
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Awards
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — Picturebook — 2021)
Monarch Award (Nominee — 2024)
Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee — Children's Picture — 2022)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Preschool — 2022)
Great Lakes Great Books Award (Winner — 2021)
Nevada Young Readers' Award (Nominee — 2022)
Coretta Scott King Award (Honor — 2020)
California Young Reader Medal (Nominee — 2022)
Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration (Nominee — 2021)
Comstock Read Aloud Book Award (Winner — 2020)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 2021)
Children's Africana Book Award (Honor Book — 2020)
Colorado Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2022)
Ladybug Picture Book Award (Nominee — 2020)
Show Me Readers Award (Nominee — 2022)
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Nominee — Children — 2020)
Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Book (Primary — 2020)
Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection — 2021)
Penn GSE's Best Books for Young Readers (Selection — 2019)
Picture This Recommendation List (Fiction — 2020)
El día de los niños / El día de los libros (K-2 — 2020)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2019
ISBN
0241394333 / 9780241394335