SUZANA IN THE DRAWING LAND

This children's book tells the story of Suzana and her magic pencil, with which she produces scenarios for her plays. She draws a ladder to the sky and climbs; she finds Ayrton Senna, Santa Claus, and other people and celestial beings who arouse her curiosity about what she must do in life to be eligible for paradise after death. Suzana continues her play, changes the subject, becomes a princess, a doll, a celebrity. When she gets tired of manipulating the world, she realizes that her pencil is monochromatic and that each person owns a different color.

Available in 2 options: 1) eBook in Portuguese; 2) eBook in English.  

Conception

This work was conceived after the death of Ayrton Senna. National mourning, Brazilians lost a hero. So Cristie wondered about what it meant to be a hero? If it was necessary to be an astronaut, a scientist, a pilot, an Ayrton Senna? Or was it enough to be an Ayrton da Silva, a common citizen, and just star in one's own story? In reality, each one is really the hero of one's universe, because the universe would not exist for those who did not exist... And figuratively, each one is the owner of a pencil with which one writes one's trajectory through the world.

Illustrations

The techniques used in the illustrations were watercolor painting and crayons outlined with either black pencil  or nankin. Thematic lines as shown below were made with colored pencils and then transformed into vector.

The challenge about these lines was not to take the pencil off of the paper, which was not always possible. See an animation of the digital book.

Excerpt

   [...]

   – Eu posso, eu faço, eu aconteço, eu mando no mundo. Muita calma nessa hora, se eu mandasse no mundo eu seria Deus!  E por falar em Deus, está certo que uma corrida celestial merece um piloto à altura, mas tinha que ser o nosso Ayrton Senna? –  De  repente os olhos da menina se arregalaram –  Mas como não pensei nisso antes?

   E com um sorriso nos lábios e um lápis na mão, Suzana desenhou uma escada para o céu e subiu.

   Encontrou anjos nas nuvens tocando instrumentos musicais. Os mais velhos tocavam harpa, como manda o figurino. Já os mais jovens, quem diria?,  tocavam bateria e guitarra!

   – Céus, que barulheira infernal! - reclamou Suzana, tapando os ouvidos e em seguida apertando a mão na boca para silenciar as palavras indevidas já pronunciadas.  Pensando bem, coitadinhos, que divertimento haveria no além sem a música?

   E continuou andando e cumprimentando anjos e pessoas normais, desprovidas de asas e de aureolas. Cada indivíduo correspondia com um sorriso franco. Então Suzana deu um salto para trás.

   – Mas o que foi que eu descobri? Quer dizer que funciona assim: quem morre jovem fica jovem pra sempre no paraíso, e quem morre velho fica velho para sempre? Mas que injustiça! Dizem que os velhos perdem a energia, a saúde, a memória... Ao chegar do outro lado, a pessoa nem vai ser ela mesma inteira! Ave Maria, então  tenho que morrer logo! Muita calma nessa hora, não antes de atingir minha inteiridade.

   [...]

   [...]

    “I can do anything, I have everything I want, I rule the world. Wait, if I ruled the world I would be God! Speaking of God, certainly a celestial race deserves a pilot up to the responsibility, but did it have to be our Ayrton Senna?” – Suddenly the girl’s eyes widened – “But how haven’t I thought of that before?”

    And with a smile on her lips and a pencil in her hand, Suzana drew a ladder to the sky and rose.

   She met angels in the clouds playing musical instruments. The older ones played harp, as expected. The younger (who would say?) played drums and guitar!

   “Good heavens, what infernal noise!” – complained Suzana, covering her ears and then pressing her hand on her mouth to silence undue words already pronounced. “On second thought, poor little ones, what fun would there be in the hereafter without the music?”

   She continued walking and greeting angels and regular people, devoid of wings and halos. Each individual answered her with a frank smile. Suzana then jumped back.

   “But what have I discovered? It means that’s the way it works, who dies young will remain forever young in paradise, and who dies old will remain forever old? What an injustice! People say that the old lose energy, health, memory... Upon reaching the other side, the person will not even be her or his full self!  Holy Mary, then I have to die soon! Wait, not before reaching my fullness.”

   [...]