The book Sulwe, written by actress Lupita Nyong'o, should be in every classroom library. We love this book because it is all about being proud of who you are and finding your inner beauty. This book also lends itself to discussions on individuality and the importance of diversity. If you are looking to create a more diverse library in your classroom, this is definitely a book to add. . - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
Sulwe had skin that was as dark as night. She didn’t look like her family, they all had lighter skin and Sulwe wished she looked like them. At school, Sulwe didn’t have any friends like her sister did. Everyone gave her sister nice nicknames like “Beauty” or “Sunshine” while they called Sulwe mean names like “Darky” and “Night.”
Sulwe wanted lighter skin so much she tried erasing it, putting on makeup, and eating light colored foods. Nothing she tried worked. When Sulwe told her mother about her problem, her mother told her that she was beautiful. She explained that it is not enough for someone else to think you’re beautiful, you must think it about yourself.
One night Sulwe had a dream where she learned about Night and Day who lived long ago. Like Sulwe and her sister, people did not like Night but they loved Day. Feeling sad, Night decided to leave earth. Eventually, the people missed Night so her sister when to find her. Night learned that there is beauty in darkness and the world needs both.
After hearing the story of Night and Day, Sulwe finally started to feel beautiful herself. She knew she had brightness inside of her and learned to love herself inside and out.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
While we love that this book is a great read aloud to teach social emotional learning, it can also be used to teach a variety of literacy concepts. Reads alouds are a great way to practice reading comprehension strategies, writing, and grammar skills. Take a look at some ideas for using this book in your classroom.
- Use the author’s note to discuss the author’s purpose for writing the book.
- Practice compare and contrast skills by discussing how the character changes and feels throughout the book.
- Integrate descriptive writing by having students describe their own appearance.
- Have students practice writing book reviews after hearing the story.
- Teach a lesson on compound words and suffixes.
- Introduce students to multiple meaning words.
- Discuss the importance of positive self-talk.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
This book is a must have for your school or classroom library. Your students are going to love completing these activities for the book and you will be impressed with how much they learn. You will want to read this book to your class every year.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
- The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
- Same, Same But Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
- Not Quite, Snow White by Ashley Franklin
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
