When Parker Curry came face-to-face with Amy Sherald's transcendent portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama at the National Portrait Gallery, she didn't just see the First Lady of the United States. She saw a queen — one with dynamic self-assurance, regality, beauty, and truth who captured this young girl's imagination. When a nearby museum-goer snapped a photo of a mesmerized Parker, it became an internet sensation.
Inspired by this visit, Parker, and her mother, Jessica Curry, tell their story. They follow Parker, along with her baby sister and her mother, and her best friend Gia and Gia's mother, as they walk the halls of a museum, seeing paintings of everyone and everything from George Washington Carver to Frida Kahlo, exotic flowers to graceful ballerinas... Until Parker looks up and sees the possibility and promise, the hopes and dreams of herself in this powerful painting. This moving picture book, featuring a foreword by Amy Sherald herself, shows how an everyday moment became an extraordinary one that continues to resonate its power, inspiration, and indelible impact. Parker returns in her second picture book, Parker Shines On.
"Parker’s thoughts about what she sees when she looks at Michelle Obama are assumed by her expressive gaze, well captured by illustrator Jackson. The reimagined images of the paintings are brilliant.... A delightful story that speaks powerfully to the importance of representation." — Kirkus Reviews
Recommended Age | 4 - 8 |
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Author | Parker Curry, Jessica Curry |
Illustrator | Brittany Jackson |
ISBN | 1534451862 |
Publication Date | Oct 15, 2019 |
Publisher | Aladdin |
Language | English |