Lupita Nyong’o is writing a children’s book that everyone needs to read

Cape Town – Lupita Nyong’o is writing a children’s book that she hopes everyone will read.

According to The New York Times the Black Panther actress will publish her first children’s book with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in January 2019.

The picture book is called Sulwe - which translates to "the star" in Luo, Lupita's native Kenyan language – and is about a “a dark-skinned girl who goes on a starry-eyed adventure, and awakens with a reimagined sense of beauty. She encounters lessons that we learn as children and spend our lives unlearning,” Lupita said in an Instagram post.

The Oscar-winning actress added that while the picture book is for children she hopes “it serves as an inspiration for everyone to walk with joy in their own skin.”

SEE THE INSTAGRAM POST HERE:

In an interview with The New York Times, Lupita shared that the book is inspired by her own personal struggles with her complexion and self-image when she was younger.

Lupita shared a powerful message about accepting yourself for who you are in response to a young fan’s letter at the ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood luncheon in 2014.

She told the audience: “I hope that my presence on your screens and in magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel validation of your external beauty, but also, get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside.”

WATCH LUPITA’S SPEECH HERE: