Recently, Parker Curry and her mother, Jessica Curry attended the NAACP Awards. Parker was nominated, in the category of Outstanding Literary Work-Children, for her best-selling book, that captures the moment she made history in front of the portrait of Michelle Obama. Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment is published by Aladdin Books, authored by Parker and her mother Jessica, and illustrated by Brittany Jackson.
Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment follows Parker, her baby sister and her mother, and her best friend Gia and Gia’s mother, as they walk the halls of the museum, seeing paintings of everyone and everything from George Washington Carver to Frida Kahlo, exotic flowers to graceful ballerinas. As Parker walks by the portrait of Michelle Obama, she stops and gazes upon possibility and promise, seeing the hopes and dreams for herself in this powerful piece. An everyday moment became an extraordinary mark in history.
“Parker was in front on the portrait, and I really wanted her to turn around so I could get a picture with her, and she genuinely, honestly would not turn around,” said her mother, Jessica Curry, in an interview with CNN. “She was uncooperative with me because she was just so focused on the portrait and studying it, and she was just so fascinated.”
The artist, Amy Sherald, posted the then two-year-old’s moment on her own Instagram account stating, “Feeling all the feels. When I look at this picture I think back to my first field trip in elementary school to a museum. I had only seen paintings in encyclopedias up to that point in my life.”
Want to share this important moment about representation for generations to come? Get your copy of Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment here. Congratulations, Parker! We cannot wait to see more best-sellers on the shelf with your name on them.
