A Peek Inside: Pencilvania
Written by Stephanie Watson
Illustrated by Sofia Moore
Published by Sourcebooks Young Readers
Hi there! This is Sofia and today I would like to share a new book that has been released lately.
Working on PENCILVANIA took the best part of my 2021, and while the world was going through the pandemic and isolation, I was deep in creating imaginary creatures that came from a 12-year old’s sketchbook. As an illustrator I had a job to get inside Zora’s mind and recreate her drawings from the time since she started drawing for the first time and till when she became more experienced artist using different tools and mediums. But before that I did some sketches to bring the characters to life. Here are some first sketches of Zora, the main character of Pencilvania. She is cool, thoughtful, caring and sensitive.
Cover illustration thought process…
…and more sketches…
In this illustrated, modern take on The Phantom Tollbooth meets Harold and the Purple Crayon, author Stephanie Watson beautifully explores grief and creativity through an unforgettable fantasy world.
Ever since she first learned to hold a crayon, Zora Webb has been unstoppable. Zora draws hamsters wearing pajamas and balloons and Lake Superior and pancakes and hundreds of horses. Her drawings fill sketchbooks and cover the walls of the happy home she shares with Frankie and their mother.
But when Zora's mom is diagnosed with leukemia, everything changes. After months of illness, she dies, and with her goes Zora's love of creation. Desperate to escape the pain, Zora scribbles out her artwork. Her dark, furious scribbles lift off the page and yank Zora and Frankie into Pencilvania, a magical world that's home to everything Zora has ever drawn. And one drawing―a scribbled-out horse named Viscardi―is determined to finish the destruction Zora started.
Viscardi kidnaps Frankie, promising to scribble her and all of Pencilvania out at sunrise. Zora sets out to rescue her sister, venturing deep into Pencilvania―a place crawling with memories, dangers, and new friends. If she is to save Frankie, Zora will have to face the darkness that both surrounds her and is inside of her.
Thank you for reading!
Until the next time,
-Sofia
