This Goodly Land

Faye Gibbons (January 31, 1938–present)

Other Names Used

• Faye Junkins: birth name

Alabama Connections

• Auburn, Lee County: education
• Beauregard, Lee County: taught school briefly
• Huntsville, Madison County: taught school briefly
• Deatsville, Elmore County: adult residence

Selected Works

• Gibbons, Faye. Some Glad Morning. New York: Morrow, 1982. For younger readers.
• Gibbons, Faye. King Shoes and Clown Pockets. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1989. For younger readers.
• Gibbons, Faye. Night in the Barn. Illus. Erick Ingraham. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1995. For younger readers.
• Gibbons, Faye. Mountain Wedding. Illus. Ted Rand. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1996. For younger readers.
• Gibbons, Faye. Mama and Me and the Model T. Illus. Ted Rand. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1999. For younger readers.
• Gibbons, Faye. Horace King: Bridges to Freedom. Birmingham: Crane Hill Publishers, 2002. For younger readers.
• Gibbons, Faye. The Day the Picture Man Came. Illus. Sherry Meidel. Honesdale, Pa.: Boyds Mill Press, 2003. For younger readers.

Literary Awards

• Georgia Book of the Year, Juvenile Fiction, Dixie Council of Authors and Journalists, 1983, for Some Glad Morning
• Alabama Author Award, Alabama Library Association, 1998, for Night in the Barn

Biographical Information

Faye Gibbons was born in Carter’s Quarter, Ga. Her family moved frequently, and, like many families in the mountains and mill towns of northern Georgia, they lacked the conveniences of electricity, indoor plumbing, and automobiles. Their chief entertainment was storytelling. Gibbons was nine years old when she first attended school, where she discovered a new world of stories through reading. After graduating from high school, Gibbons attended Oglethorpe University, Emory University, and Berry College, from which she earned a BA in 1961. She taught school in Georgia from 1961 to 1964. Gibbons attended graduate school at Auburn University in 1965. She taught school in Alabama from 1964 to 1969.

Gibbons stopped teaching in 1969 to raise her family. At this point, she also decided to pursue a writing career. Although she had told stories as a child to her brothers and sisters, she had never written them down. Her first book, Some Glad Morning, was published in 1982. Since then, she has written both fiction and nonfiction books and short stories. In addition, Gibbons frequently visits schools and libraries to meet her readers and encourage them to read widely and to write their own stories. She lives in Deatsville, Ala.

Interests and Themes

Faye Gibbons writes books and short stories for younger readers. Most are based on her childhood growing up in the Georgia mountains and mill towns. Her stories also reflect her belief the importance of family and the power of dreams.

For More Information

Please check your local library for these materials. If items are not available locally, your librarian can help you borrow them through the InterLibrary Loan program. Your librarian can also help you find other information about this author.

There may be more information available through the databases in the Alabama Virtual Library. If you are an Alabama citizen, AVL can be used at your public library or school library media center. You can also get a username and password from your librarian to use AVL at home.

Reference Articles

• Dorer, Ann. "Long Ago in the Mountains". Southern Lady Sept./Oct. 2005: 16-17.

Reference Book Chapters and Encyclopedia Entries

• "Gibbons, Faye 1938-"; Something About the Author. Vol. 103. Detroit: Gale Group, . 64-67.

Reference Web Sites

• Gibbons, Faye. Faye Gibbons. http://www.fayegibbons.com .
• Spell, Carrie. "Faye Gibbons". The Encyclopedia of Alabama. 2010. Alabama Humanities Foundation. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-2517.

Location of Papers

• Auburn University at Montgomery
• University of Southern Mississippi

Photo courtesy of Faye Gibbons.

Last updated on May 30, 2008.