Bright April (OCLC 8739451) is a 1946 children's story book written and illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli, who later won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature for another book, 1950's The Door in the Wall. Bright April is a story about a young African-American girl named April who experiences racial prejudice; it is also the story of her bright personality and her tenth birthday and the surprise it brought. The story is set in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the scenery portrayed in the author's illustrations can be recognized even today.
Bright April was the first children’s book to address the divisive issue of racial prejudice, a daring topic for a children's book of that time. Selected digital images of this book are available here.
Famous quotes containing the words bright and/or april:
“Waves sparkle and delight
the weary eyes
that never saw the sun fall in the sea
nor the bright Pleiads rise.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
““10 April 1800—
Blacks rebellious. Crew uneasy. Our linguist says
their moaning is a prayer for death,
ours and their own.”
—Robert Earl Hayden (1913–1980)