Bright April is a 1946 children's story book written and illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli

Marguerite de Angeli

Marguerite de Angeli was a bestselling author and illustrator of children's books including the 1950 Newbery Award winning book The Door in the Wall...

, who later won the Newbery Medal

Newbery Medal

The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...

 for excellence in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 children's literature

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

 for another book, 1950's The Door in the Wall

The Door in the Wall

The Door in the Wall is a 1949 novel by Marguerite de Angeli that received the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1950.-Plot summary:...

. 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

Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...

 neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, 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.