Local children’s book author and illustrator Sarah Frances Hardy was recently honored with an award on the national stage.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts based in Washington D.C. has committees in every state and annually, three artists from Mississippi are awarded.

“It was really quite an honor, I was thrilled,” Hardy said of the recognition. The award ceremony was held during a special luncheon in Jackson on Aug. 1.

Since 2012, Hardy has published three books and has a new one in the works. She jokes that she has plenty of early book ideas from before 2012 that “will never see the light of day.”

A graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, Hardy retired from the world of law to pursue writing and illustrating. The author’s primary medium is painting and her work has been exhibited throughout the southeast. Her style explodes with bright colors, an ideal fit for children’s literature.

During the Jackson luncheon, Hardy spoke about the importance of children’s books.

“A lot of the time, children’s book authors and illustrators get left out of the big awards,” she said. “People think children’s literature isn’t serious literature. They think the artwork is illustration and not fine art. I just talked about what could be more important than introducing children to literature and to art at such a young age. If you look at the illustrations today, they are incredible, we’re really in a golden age.”