Parker Shines On: Another Extraordinary Moment (A Parker Curry Book)

PARKER SHINES ON is a sweet picture book about practice, family, and reaching for your goals. Parker loves to play with her siblings, Ava and Cash - one of their favorite things is to have dance parties around the house. Parker also loves to do ballet and enjoys her dance classes. She aspires to be a great dancer like Misty Copeland - and like Mira, the talented student at the ballet school who also gets a solo in the recital. Parker practices hard as the recital approaches. When it is time for Mira's solo, she confesses that she is too nervous to go out. Parker is not sure how to help until her sister yells out "Dance Party!" Together, she and Mira go out and dance, having a wonderful time.

What I loved: This is such a sweet story that captures all the love of family and the complex relationships between siblings, when they help and when they annoy - but the feeling of love overall. Another theme of the book is around the importance of practice to achieve your goals, and it is great to see how Parker sticks with it and does her best - with amazing results. She is not always perfect, but practice helps her to dance beautifully. Her admiration for Mira felt so genuine, and her vulnerability and nerves will resonate with young readers. The resolution that pulls in Parker's kindness and her family is really lovely.

The illustrations are detailed and beautifully done, bringing the story to life. The expressive characters, ballet scenes, and fantastic details make for an engaging read. The length of text is just right, conveying the story along with many pictures that will keep preschoolers as well as older readers entertained.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the book shows a jete twice where Parker is standing in a position, but a jete in ballet is a jump. I assume maybe this was supposed to be where she was before she did the jete, but it's a bit out of sync with the other things she practices.

Final verdict: A lovely story of family, ballet, and persistence, PARKER SHINES ON is a charming and beautifully illustrated picture book that is sure to delight young readers. Highly recommend for older toddlers through elementary school aged readers.