Bright, Paul 1949-

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Bright, Paul 1949-

Personal

Born 1949, in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England. Education: Studied engineering and materials science.

Addresses

Home and office—Spain.

Career

Author. Employed at a chemical company.

Awards, Honors

Practical Pre-School Silver Award, 2003, for Under the Bed; Stockport School's Book Award shortlist, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, 2007, for I'm Not Going out There!

Writings

Quiet!, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Under the Bed, illustrated by Ben Cort, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2004.

Nobody Laughs at a Lion!, illustrated by Matt Buckingham, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2005.

I Am Not Going out There!, illustrated by Ben Cort, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2006.

Sidelights

Paul Bright began his writing career creating stories for his own children, and he has continued to do even now that his children are far too old for bedtime tales. The majority of Bright's picture-book texts are geared for preschool-aged audiences and focus on universal childhood themes such as fear and individuality. In Nobody Laughs at a Lion!, for example, a clumsy lion is discouraged when he finds that other jungle animals have talents he does not possess. The lion is unable to climb trees as quickly as the monkeys, and he cannot run as fast as the cheetah. When the lion tries to outdo the jungle animals at contests that draw on their individual talents, he fails miserably and is laughed at. When the lion roars, however, he finally realizes that he, too, has a talent others cannot match. A Kirkus Reviews critic deemed Bright's jungle tale "a simple but fun read."

Bright's rhyming text takes center stage in I'm Not Going out There!, one of several titles that feature artwork by Ben Cort. In I'm Not Going out There! a young boy hides under his bed and vehemently declares that he will not come out. As a host of scary characters are described—everything from witches to monsters and ghosts—each creature appears, but becomes so frightened of the thing that has terrified the boy that it joins him in his under-the-box-spring refuge. Ultimately, the terror reveals itself: it is the boy's little sister, busy having a temper tantrum. Praising Cort's "bold and colorful" illustrations, Maren Ostergard wrote in School Library Journal that I'm Not Going out There! is "a rhyming tale with a twist," and a Kirkus Reviews writer cited the book's "bouncy rhymes, bright colors and … entertaining punch line." A second Kirkus Reviews writer deemed Under the Bed another successful collaboration between author and illustrator, writing that the "soothing" bedtime tale is enlivened by "Bright's vivid imagery and Cort's grand detonations of color."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2004, review of Under the Bed, p. 488; May 15, 2005, review of Nobody Laughs at a Lion, p. 585; September 15, 2006, review of I'm Not Going out There!, p. 947.

Library Media Connection, January, 2004, review of Quiet!, p. 56.

School Library Journal, December, 2003, Andrea Tarr, review of Quiet!, p. 104; August, 2004, Sheilah Kosco, review of Under the Bed, p. 84; November, 2006, Maren Ostergard, review of I'm Not Going out There!, p. 84.

School Librarian, winter, 2003, review of Quiet!, p. 185; winter, 2003, review of Under the Bed, p. 185; spring, 2006, Derek Lomas, review of Nobody Laughs at a Lion, p. 17; winter, 2006, Joyce Banks, review of I'm Not Going out There!, p. 181.