Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids!
The Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids! encourages Alabama children in Kindergarten through 5th Grade to write their own poems, and to celebrate the joys of poetry. Each Spring, we invite children to submit their best poems to be judged by beloved children’s author Charles “Father Goose” Ghigna. We select our favorite poets to read their poems for us at the Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids! held at Homewood Public Library, and winning poems will be on display at the Alabama State Council on the Arts America 250 Arts Exhibit in Montgomery!
Winners of the 2026 Competition Announced!
Grades 4-5
“Alabama Is So Sweet” by Everly Mosco, Grade 4, Greystone Elementary
“Why Alabama Is Great” by Kylie Lowe, Grade 5, Magnolia Elementary
“Alabama, You Are Great” by Jack Roberts, Grade 4, Mount Olive Elementary
“Alabama” by Theodore Buckalew, Grade 5, Helena Intermediate School
“I Love Alabama Because” by Henry Hook, Grade 4, Magnolia Elementary
Grades 2-3
“This Is Alabama” by Jacob Whitehead, Grade 3, Magnolia Elementary
“The Pitcher Plant Bog” by Evangeline Elise McCarty, Grade 2, Pathway Co-Op
“Alabama Goes” by Lois Speeg, Grade 3, Magnolia Elementary
“History of Alabama” by Billy Burmester, Grade 3, Magnolia Elementary
“An Alabama Hug” by Haddie Updegraff, Grade 3, Helena Intermediate School
Congratulations to the Winners of the
2026 Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids! Poetry Competition!!!
Join us at Homewood Public Library on May 16th at 2pm for the Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids!
A POEM IS A LITTLE PATH
A poem is a little path
That leads you through the trees.
It takes you to the cliffs and shores,
To anywhere you please.
Follow it and trust your way
With mind and heart as one,
And when the journey’s over,
You’ll find you’ve just begun.
from The Father Goose Treasury of Poetry
by Charles Ghigna
