Reading: PARKER LOOKS UP: AN EXTRAORDINARY MOMENT - Parker & Jessica Curry (writers), Brittany Jackson (illustrator)

When budding four-year-old ballerina-to-be Parker Curry takes a trip to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. with her mother and baby sister, her first surprise on getting there is meeting up with her best friend Gia and Gia's mom, both also along for the ride. The exuberant young girls pass in awe through the halls of the museum, viewing portraits of famous figures and beautiful scenes alike, Parker in particular dancing along with her friend Gia to a painting of ballerinas as graceful as Parker herself one day hopes to be. It's a beautiful day among beautiful artwork, Parker very happy but still very unprepared when she passes a portrait and - looking up last-minute - spots ... a queen queen. It's the Gallery's portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama, and the impact the painting has on little Parker is that of a lightning bolt. As her mother tells Parker who the painting is of and what the woman stands for, Parker becomes entranced with seeing this portrait of such a regal, important woman on the wall that looks so much like her; unable to look away, the image at once imbues Parker with a sense of knowing that she can have it all - do, or be, whatever she wants to be in life, limited only by her own imagination - and though this short, wonderfully-illustrated picture book ends there, readers learn that the story was inspired by author Parker Curry's own experience in viewing the portrait as a child; so impactful, she wrote her experience into this book with her mother, recounting that day vividly. Brittany Jackson's marvelous, colorful illustrations - real works of art, themselves - bring story, characters, and even the National Portrait Gallery vividly to life. A perfect picture book to gift to young girls craving this same inspiration and empowering message of living your dream, particularly in a world that too-often tries to squash that dream.  4/5 stars