Oscar Award Winning actress Lupita Nyong’o’s rise to fame has been a noble one. Studying film and theatre studies at Hampshire College and then going on to get her Masters at Yale School of Drama, was the path to land her most career defining role to date. Depicting Patsey, a slave on a Louisiana cotton plantation, in 12 Years A Slave earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. As her star grows brighter and brighter, Nyong’o has become an influential history maker, being included on Forbes lists and Vogue covers.

Now, she is adding author to her list of accolades, and to add even more prestige she is a New York Times Best-Selling author at that. Lupita wrote a children’s book that was published in October of this year. She told the New York Times that she penned the book in hopes to inspire “everyone to walk with joy in their own skin.” On her Instagram account, she went a little further to describe the motivation behind the children’s book.

She said,

“With Sulwe, I wanted to give dark skin permission to exist in the world of dreams and imagination, where possibilities and potential really grow. Vashti’s illustrations do just that and I cherish every page of her artwork.”

The book is a huge success, especially among her new tiny fans. She posted a series of photos on Instagram to highlight the adorable little beauties. Peruse some of them below, it looks like Nyong’o’s aim is well underway!

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