Saturday, November 15, 2014

The Father Goose House
The Father Goose House is a 95-year-old English Tudor cottage located in the old Edgewood section of Homewood, Alabama, 
home to Debra and Charles Ghigna for the past 48 years. Affectionately known as "Father Goose," Charles has written more than 
100 books and 5,000 poems in The Father Goose House. His writing room which he calls his "treehouse" is located in the attic.
 
 
Father Goose 
Birmingham, Alabama
Vulcan Park
(photo by Scott Pierce) 

Charles Ghigna - Father Goose® is the author of more than 100 books from Disney, Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Time Inc. and other publishers, and more than 5000 poems, many of which appear in textbooks, anthologies, newspapers, and magazines including The New Yorker, Harper’s, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, as well as in Highlights, Cricket and numerous other magazines for children. He served as poet-in-residence and chair of creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, instructor of creative writing at Samford University, poetry editor of English Journal for the National Council of Teachers of English, and as a nationally syndicated poetry feature writer for Tribune Media Services. He speaks at schools, conferences, libraries, and literary events throughout the U.S. and overseas, and has read his poems at The Library of Congress, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the American Library in Paris, the American School in Paris, and the International Schools of South America. For more information, visit his website at FatherGoose.com FatherGoose.com




Dinner at Versailles
with family and friends
November 2023



with Chip and Daisy
Homewood, Alabama
October 2023
(photo by Debra Ghigna)





Southern Festival of Books
Nashville, Tennessee
October 2023
(photo by Debra Ghigna)




with Debra Ghigna
at our son's Pop-Up Art Show
West Homewood Market
Homewood, Alabama
June 2023
(photo by Chip Ghigna)




Homewood Public Library
 Homewood, Alabama
May 17, 2023
 
 
 
 
 
Homewood Public Library
 Homewood, Alabama
May 17, 2023
 (photo by Chip Ghigna)





 Little Professor Bookshop at the Pepper Place

 Birmingham, Alabama
May 13, 2023
 (photo by Debra Ghigna)





with Jake Reiss, owner of the Alabama Booksmith
 Homewood, Alabama
April 27, 2023
 (photo by Debra Ghigna) 
 
with Chantelle Grubbs and children
at the Alabama Booksmith
 Homewood, Alabama
April 27, 2023
 (photo by Debra Ghigna) 

relaxing after my signing at the Alabama Booksmith
 Homewood, Alabama
April 28, 2023
 (photo by Debra Ghigna) 
 
 
Speaking to 500 eager teachers, parents, and kids at the
Southern Kentucky Festival of Books
 Bowling Green, Kentucky
March 24, 2023
 (photo by Debra Ghigna)
 
 
 
Signing books and talking with kids at the
Southern Kentucky Festival of Books
 Bowling Green, Kentucky
March 25, 2023
 (photo by Debra Ghigna)


 
 
 
Monroeville Literary Festival
Monroeville, Alabama
March 3-4, 2023
 
 
 
Book signing table with Joy Harjo
 Monroeville Literary Festival
Monroeville, Alabama
March 4, 2023
 
 
 
 
 
 
 with Debra Ghigna
Monroeville Academy
Monroeville, Alabama
March 2, 2023

 
 
 
 
 
Hall-Kent Elementary School
Homewood, Alabama
Jan. 27, 2023
(photo by Maureen Kelley) 

 
 
 
 Hall-Kent Elementary School
Homewood, Alabama
Jan. 27, 2023
(photo by Maureen Kelley) 
 



With Chip, Debra, Julie and Sparky
Santa Cruz, California
Nov 23, 2022
 (photo by Scott Pierce)
 
 
 

With Julie, Debra, Christopher, and Chip
Santa Cruz, California
Nov 23, 2022
 (photo by Scott Pierce) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 With Debra and Chip
Thanksgving Day
at the home of Keela and Dave Robison
Los Gatos, California
Nov 24, 2022
 (photo by Scott Pierce)
 
 
 
 
 
With Debra Ghigna on the Santa Cruz Wharf
Santa Cruz, California
Nov 25, 2022
 (photo by Chip Ghigna) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Celebrating one million books published by Random House
Springville Road Library
Birmingham, Alabama
Oct 18, 2022
(photos by Chip Ghigna) 
 

 
 

 
Booksigning
Little Professor Bookshop
Homewood, Alabama
May 2022
(photo by Elise Ferrer)  




 
 
Reading at home
Homewood, Alabama
  December 2020
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 
 




Chip Ghigna and Charles Ghigna
At home in the backyard
Homewood, Alabama
April 2020
(photo by Erin Nelson) 
 
 
 
 

with Mayor Scott McBrayer
Homewood Public Library
Homewood, Alabama
Dec. 14, 2019
 (photo by Debra Ghigna)




with Homewood Librarians
Mary Eller, Deborah Fout, and Laura Tucker
at the Jefferson County Public Library Association
Champions Banquet
Hoover Met Center
Hoover, Alabama
Dec. 3, 2019
 
with Librarians from the Children's Department
  of the Homewood Public Library
Cristina Castor, Mary Eller, Laura Tucker, Aaliyah
at the Jefferson County Public Library Association
Champions Banquet
Hoover Met Center
Hoover, Alabama
Dec. 3, 2019






Trussville Public Library
Trussville, Alabama
Oct. 6, 2019
(photo by Chip Ghigna) 



 
 
 
 
 
Granddaughter Charlotte Rose Ghigna
and her daddy Chip Ghigna
visiting the Treehouse
Homewood, Alabama
2019







Reading in the Treehouse
Homewood, Alabama
July 16, 2019
(photo by Chip Ghigna) 
 



The University of Alabama
Gorgas Library
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
May 11, 2019
(photo by Debra Ghigna)


 
 
 

Auburn University
Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
Auburn, Alabama
Apr. 13, 2019





Books-A-Million
Brookwood Village
Homewood, Alabama
Mar. 23, 2019








Meadow View Elementary School
School Visit
Alabaster, Alabama
Mar. 7, 2019





Homewood Public Library
Booksigning
Homewood, Alabama
Jan. 2, 2019






Alabama Literacy Association Conference
Birmingham, Alabama
Nov. 1, 2019






School Visit
Birmingham, Alabama
2019



 
 
National Book Festival
Washington, DC
Sept. 1, 2018
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 





with Whitman editor Mary Burleson and publisher Dawn Burbank
Alabama Chapter of the American Pediatrics Meeting
Florence, Alabama
August 28, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
with editors
National Geographic Books for Children
American Library Association Convention
New Orleans, Louisiana
June 25, 2018





National Science Teachers Association Conference
Atlanta, Georgia
March 17, 2018
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 
 





with Chip Ghigna
Bryant Park
New York City
Dec. 17, 2017
(photo by Debra Ghigna)




with Debra Ghigna
Museum of Modern Art
New York City
Dec. 15, 2017
(photo by Chip Ghigna)





with Chip Ghigna
The Roosevelt Hotel
New York City
Dec. 14, 2017
(photo by Debra Ghigna)




with Debra Ghigna
The Roosevelt Hotel
New York City
Dec. 13-18, 2017
(photo by Chip Ghigna)




Out the window of the Treehouse
Homewood, Alabama
Dec. 8, 2017
(photo by Debra Ghigna)




Inside the Treehouse
Homewood, Alabama
2017
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 





with Debra Ghigna and Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Homewood, Alabama
2017
 
 
 


with granddaughter, Charlotte Rose Ghigna
Homewood, Alabama
2017
(photo by Debra Ghigna)









Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Bowling Green, Kentucky
2017
(photo by Debra Ghigna)


 
 with R.L. Stein
"Father Goose meets Goosebumps"
Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Bowling Green, Kentucky
2017
(photo by Debra Ghigna)



Helena Intermediate School
Helena, Alabama
2017
 
 






with Debra Ghigna
Honfleur, France
2016
(photo by Chip Ghigna) 
 

 
Books-A-Million Bookstore
Animal Planet Book
Winner of National Science Teachers Association Award
Birmingham, AL
2016
(photo by Debra Ghigna)
 
 
 
 
 
The Walker School
Marietta, Georgia
2016
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 





 
Sixes Elementary School
Canton, Georgia
2016
 
 

 




with Charlottle Rose Ghigna
FoxTale Book Shoppe
Woodstock, Georgia
2016
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 
 
 

 

with Chip Ghigna 
Barons Baseball Game
Regions Field
Birmingham, Alabama
2016
 
 
 
 

 


Mount Vernon, WA
2016







with Jake Reiss, Chip Ghigna, Debra Ghigna
Alabama Booksmith
Homewood, Alabama
December 8, 2016







Tea Time in the Treehouse
Homewood, Alabama
2015
 
 





 Alabama 5-City Book Tour
with Anna from the movie Frozen
Huntsville, Alabama
2015



Books-A-Million
Brookwood Village
Homewood, Alabama
2015
(photo by Debra Ghigna)



Barnes & Noble Bookstore
Birmingham, Alabama
2015
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
with Charlotte Rose Ghigna
 Homewood Public Library
Homewood, Alabama
2015
(photo by Chip Ghigna)
 







with Charlotte Rose Ghigna
Chip Ghigna Art Show
The Ellenburg Art Gallery - Homewood Library
Homewood, Alabama
2015
(photo by Chip Ghigna)





St Tropez, France
2015
(photo by Chip Ghigna)




with Debra Ghigna in Montmartre
Paris, France
2015
(photo by Chip Ghigna)



 

with Debra Ghigna, beach party
St Tropez, France
2015
(photo by Chip Ghigna)


 
 

with Debra Ghigna (wife) and Chip Ghigna (son)
St Tropez, France
2015
(photo by Diana Levaton)




with daughter, Julie Pierce
at the top of the Statue of Vulcan
Birmingham, Alabama
2014
(photo by Scott Pierce)





with Debra celebrating the Elo Pillow
containing thirty-two of our audio stories
Homewood, Alabama
2014
(photo by Chip Ghigna) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
with Debra Ghigna and Librarian Ashley Fowlkes
Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Bowling Green, Kentucky
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Bowling Green, Kentucky
2014
 (photo by Debra Ghigna)
 
 






Charlotte Rose Ghigna serenades Grandpa Goose on the piano
Homewood, Alabama
2014
(photo by Debra Ghigna)

 


with illustrator Lori Nichols
Homewood Public Library
Homewood, Alabama
2014
 
 
 
 

Reading to children on a float
Homewood Christmas Parade
Homewood, Alabama
2013
(photo by Chip Ghigna) 

with Deborah Fout, Homewood Library Director
Christmas Parade
Homewood, Alabama
2013
(photo by Chip Ghigna)





with grandson, Christopher Pierce
Seattle, Washington
2013
(photo by Scott Pierce) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Texas Library Association
Dallas, Texas
2013
 






with Rebecca Davis, Charles Waters, Amy VanDerwater, Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Texas Library Association
Dallas, Texas
2013








with Debra Ghigna
Destin Beach, Florida
2013
(photo by Chip Ghigna)













with Charlotte Rose Ghigna
Birmingham Zoo
Birmingham, Alabama
2012
(photo by Chip Ghigna)









with Charlotte Rose Ghigna in the Treehouse
Homewood, Alabama
2012
(photo by Debra Ghigna)







Homewood Public Library
Homewood, Alabama
2012
(photo by Brigid Galloway) 





with granddaughter, Charlotte Rose Ghigna
Toys R Us
Birmingham, Alabama
2011
(photo by Debra Ghigna)

 
 



Trussville Public Library
Trussville, Alabama
2010
 
 
 

with wife Debra Ghigna, son Chip Ghigna, and daughter Julie Pierce
Seattle, Washington
2009
(photo by Scott Pierce)



with Debra
Homewood, Alabama
2008
(photo by Beverly Taylor)
 


Homewood Public Library
Homewood, Alabama
2007



 

with Honey in the Treehouse
Homewood, Alabama
2006
(photo by Beau Gustafson)
 
 
 


with Debra Ghigna
Jefferson County Board of Education
Birmingham, Alabama
2005



 
 
 
 
Jonathan Benton Bookstore
Mountain Brook, Alabama
2003
(photo by Debra Ghigna)




with Honey and children
in the front yard of our home
Homewood, Alabama
2003
(photo by Beau Gustafson)




with Debra Ghigna, Michel Levaton and Diana Levaton
at the Levatons' home near
Giverny, France
2002


 


with Honey
Homewood, Alabama
2001
 
 
 

with Rick Bragg and Debra Ghigna
Birmingham Public Library
Birmingham, Alabama
2000






with Chip Ghigna, Julie Pierce, and Debra Ghigna
San Francisco, California
1999
(photo by Scott Pierce)




Homewood, Alabama
1999
(photo by Debra Ghigna)





Cooper Memorial Library
Opelika, Alabama
1998
(photo by Katie Lamar Smith) 


 
 
 
Charles Ghigna, Jon Agee, Patricia Gauch, and Eric Carle
 The de Grummand Children's Literature Collection
University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
1997
 

 


 
 
Vinemont Elementary
Cullman, Alabama
1996




 
 
Homewood Park
Homewood, Alabama
1995








 
Booksigning
Books-A-Million / Eastwood Mall
Birmingham, Alabama
1994
 
 
 
 

School Visit
Birmingham, Alabama
1994

 
 
 

with Mark Strand
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
1993
 
 
 
 
 
 

Books of Wonder
First Booksigning
of four new titles from Disney/Hyperion
New York, New York
1993






with Chip and Debra
Homewood, Alabama
1992
(photo by Jerry Ayres)
 
 
 

with son, Chip Ghigna
Backyard, Homewood, Alabama
1992
(photo by Debra Ghigna)




At the Scholastic Writing Awards Ceremony in New York City
with two of my creative writing students, Heather Brinson and Brad Armstrong.
Brad won 1st Place for Poetry and Heather won 1st Place for Fiction.
This was the first time two student winners came from the same state (Alabama),
same school (Alabama School of Fine Arts), and the same class!
Previous student winners include Sylvia Path, Truman Capote, 
John Updike, Stephen King, and Amanda Gorman.
Waldorf Astoria
New York, New York
1991

 



Creative Writing Lab
Alabama School of Fine Arts
Birmingham, Alabama
1991
 
 
 


Three Generations of Charles Vincent Ghigna
My father, my son, and me
Franklin, North Carolina
1988
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Homewood, Alabama
1987
(photo by Debra Ghigna)




with Carolyn Scott, Fiction Instructor
Teachers Lounge
Alabama School of Fine Arts
Birmingham, Alabama
1986
 



John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Six-week summer residency
Washington, DC
1984
(photo by Debra Ghigna)  
 
 




Alabama School of Fine Arts
Birmingham, Alabama
1984
(photo by Debra Ghigna)



with Debra Ghigna
Seattle, Washington 
This photo was taken right after my interview with NASA Space Center
for the Poet in Space Project on the Space Shuttle Challenger.
President Reagan later changed the mission to the Teacher in Space Project.
The Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight,
killing all seven crew members, including Christa McAuliffe,
the teacher chosen for this mission.
1984





with James Dickey
Birmingham Art Museum
Birmingham, Alabama
1983
(photo by John Northrop) 




with James Dickey
Alabama School of Fine Arts
Birmingham, Alabama
1983
(photo by John Northrop) 


 


with Debra
Baylor School
Chattanooga, Tennessee
1983
(photo by Finn Bille)  


 
 


City Lights Bookstore
San Francisco, California
1983
(photo by Debra Ghigna)  
 



Homewood, Alabama
1983
(photo by Debra Ghigna) 
 
 

Grandfather's Funeral
New York City
1982




with James Baldwin
Alabama School of Fine Arts
Birmingham, Alabama
1982
(photo by John Northrop) 



Baylor School for Boys
Chattanooga, Tennessee
1982
 
 


Alabama School of Fine Arts
Birmingham, Alabama
1982


 

Columbiana, Alabama
1981





Linn Park
Birmingham, Alabama
1980
(photo by Dale Short)


 
 
with wife, Debra, daughter, Julie and Mom & Dad
Visiting Grandparents
New York, New York
1980
 
 

 
wife, Debra, mother, Patricia, daughter, Julie, and grandmother, Laura
New York, New York
1980
 
 
 
 

with poet Robert Hayden
Montgomery, Alabama
1979




Robert Hayden and Charles Ghigna
Library of Congress
Washington, DC
1978
 
 



Alabama State Poetry Society
Arlington Home
Birmingham, Alabama
1978




National Writers Conference
Denver, Colorado
1978
 
 
 
Homewood, Alabama
1977
(photo by Debra Ghigna)  




with Debra Ghigna
London, England
1977
(photo by Chris Lawson)   
 
 


with Debra Ghigna
Homewood, Alabama
1977
(photo by Sandra Simpson)   
 





Huntsville, Alabama
1976
(photo by Tim Weber)  




 Northeast Mississippi Jr. College
Booneville, Mississippi
1976
 
 
 
 
 
 
Homewood Central Park
Homewood, Alabama
1975
(photo by Debra Ghigna)   
 








Birmingham, Alabama
1974
(photo by Beck Wilson)  




Still waiting for the call from MLB 😎
Homewood, AL
1974
 
 
 
 


Celebrating the publication of the poem
"The Alabama Wiregrassers" in Harper's Magazine
and the first year as Poetry Editor of English Journal
for the National Council of Teachers of English
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
1974


 
 
with daughter, Julie
Fort Myers, Florida
1972
 
 

Age 18
Leaving for College
Saying goodbye to Mom and Dad
Fort Myers, Florida
1965



Age 9, 4th Grade
Tice Elementary
Fort Myers, Florida
1955
 


with Mother, Age 5
Fort Myers, Florida
1950
 
 
 
 

 Age 3
Bayside, New York
1948