SOOOOO, the impossible has happened: I love Lupita Nyong'o even more than before. Why? Cuz the award-winning actress just unveiled the cover of her upcoming children's book Sulwe and it's BEYOND!!!
"I wrote Sulwe to encourage children (and everyone really!) to love the skin they are in and see the beauty that radiates from within," Lupita wrote in her Instagram caption. "The extraordinary Vashti Harrison illustrated the story."
Now that you know all about the book's inspirational storyline, we need to talk about how little Sulwe seems to be rocking the SAME headband, TWA (teenie weenie Afro), and baby blue outfit that Lupita wore when she won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2014!!!!
Annnnd, while we're at it, let's talk about Vashti Harrison, whose artistic genius helped bring Sulwe to life. If her name sounds familiar, it's because the Brooklyn creative has illustrated and published several books, including the New York Times bestselling Little Dreamers.
Vashti also illustrated Matthew Cherry's Hair Love, an upcoming children's book that started as a short film project on Kickstarter and has since grown into a collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation.
Between Sulwe and Hair Love, you can see why this is all bigger than books. In a viral 2014 speech, Lupita revealed how Western standards of beauty, namely colorism, had negatively impacted her self-esteem and confidence as a child and adolescent. So, Sulwe is basically the book she wished she had had growing up <3
Sulwe is now available for pre-order and hits bookstores on Oct. 1. In the meanwhile, here's a clip of Lupita doing one of the million things she does best:
