Lupita hit this out of the park. The imagery in the book is gorgeous in both word form and actual illustrations. Our main character Sulwe is sad because she’s darker than everyone else in her family and the kids at her school never let her forget it. She wishes to be just as light as her sister or mother because then maybe she’ll be beautiful and the other kids will like her. She does everything she can think of to change her skin color from using an eraser, eating lighter foods, and even wishing and praying for her color to change. Nothing seems to work. Finally, she gets visited by a star sent by the night herself to show Sulwe just why she’s beautiful the way she is. The star takes her on a journey through the story of the sisters Day and Night. Night was just like Sulwe, wanting to me like her bright sister so that people would love her. It wasn’t until she went away that her sister and the people around them realized just how beautiful the dark can be. Sulwe learns that just like the Night, she has her own brightness inside of her and she’s beautiful inside and out.

In a world and society where adults and children alike are too often told that whiter or lighter skin is beautiful, it’s important for children of color and especially black children to know that their skin is beautiful no matter what. Black is beautiful and we should never let anyone take that away from us.