Montgomery–Alabama My Home Sweet Home, a bicentennial book for young readers, will premiere at the Alabama Book Festival on Saturday, April 21.
Attendees of the Alabama Book Festival will be the first to see a brand-new work by Charles Ghigna, better known to some as Father Goose. Ghigna has engagement opportunities throughout the day beginning with a program at 10 a.m. in the North Tent, followed by a book signing and an appearance at the Alabama Bicentennial Tent.
Alabama, My Home Sweet Home features a bear cub named Camellia who accompanies readers as they encounter famous Alabamians like Helen Keller, Rosa Parks and Jesse Owens in their respective time and place in history.
“We are thrilled to have a bicentennial book especially for young readers,” said Jay Lamar, Alabama Bicentennial Commission Executive Director. “What better time than the celebration of the state’s 200th birthday to introduce them to important Alabama people and places.
“It even more special that Alabama My Home Sweet Home was written and illustrated by two people who call Alabama home,” Lamar adds. “Father Goose is, of course, a beloved Alabama children’s writer. Michelle Hyde’s cheerful illustrations clearly show how well she knows the state. They make a great team.”
Charles Ghigna
Ghigna is the author of more than 100 books from Random House, Simon & Schuster, Time Inc., Disney, Scholastic, andHarper’s to Highlights and Cricket magazines. He served as poet-in-residence and chair of creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Artand is instructor of creative writing at Samford University. Ghigna has also appeared at the Library of Congress, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the American Library in 
Paris. Learn more at www.charlesghigna.com.
Illustrator Michelle Hyde, a Philadelphia native, resides in Birmingham with her family. A graduate of the Ringling College of Art & Design, Hyde’s work has appeared in The Charlotte Observer and The Birmingham News in addition to other publications.
Ghigna joins a long list of best-selling authors taking part in the annual Alabama Book Festival vent, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Montgomery’s historic Old Alabama Town. To view the full Alabama Book Festival schedule, visit the website at www.alabamabookfestival.org.
Media Release/Andi Martin, Marketing and Communications/Alabama Bicentennial Commission
