Parents' Guide to Sulwe

SULWE is a little girl who observes that she's treated differently and left out because her skin, "the color of midnight," is darker than that of her family members and schoolmates. While her lighter-skinned sister gets nicknames like "Sunshine," "Ray," and "Beauty," Sulwe gets called names like "Blackie," "Darky," and "Night." "Sulwe felt hurt every time." She tries to get lighter by rubbing her skin with an eraser, putting on light makeup, even eating light-colored foods. She prays for lighter skin, starting with "Dear Lord, Why do I look like midnight when my mother looks like dawn?" Her mother tells her that her name means "star" and says, "Brightness is not in your skin ... Brightness is just who you are." And she says, "Real beauty comes from your mind and your heart. It begins with how you see yourself, not how others see you." That night a star comes into her room and whisks her away through the sky, taking her back to the beginning of Time, when Night and Day were sisters. The star tells her how each day got divided into light and dark, each having its own value and beauty. Sulwe wakes up with a newfound appreciation of her own brightness and beauty.