Saturday, October 20, 2012, we traveled to Mooresville, NC, for the annual awards banquet of the North Carolina Society of Historians, where Suzanne and Zach won awards for the first in the Stratford Oaks Tales series, The Tale of Gretchen. Zach received a Paul Green Multimedia Award for his artwork and Suzanne a Clark Cox Historical Fiction Award for the story. We were honored to receive these awards from the North Carolina Society of Historians.

Judges' Collective Comments for Suzanne's story:

"This is a charming story that will delight children of all ages. It combines simple descriptions of farm life and the animals on that farm, and what happens when one of those animals gets hurt and needs medical attention. It deals with human emotions that children can easily identify with; and through some delightful, childlike visuals, it keeps their attention, draws them in and makes them feel quite 'at home and cozy.' They will end up cheering for Gretchen who will teach them determination, perseverance and bravery.

"This story is ageless and it would have appealed to the children living in the 19th century also. It is a friendly and warm portrait of the people who lived on Stratford Oaks Farm and the area in which it is situated. It is also wonderfully written and produced. We look forward to reading more books by this author as future issues are created in this series."

Judges' Collective Comments for Zach's art:

"Zach Hamm has definitely captured the essence of the story in this book through his wonderful illustrations. Fashioned in a childlike style, they are appealing to both children and adults; however each frame is masterfully etched. The expressions on people's faces depict feelings within the text; and, recurring characters and Gretchen can easily be identified on every page they appear on due to their consistently drawn features. It takes a great deal of talent to do this but the artist has made it look easy. An absolutely incredible job!