Lebanon Lilly is back for more fun in the Lebanon Valley in her new book “More Adventures with Lebanon Lilly and Friends,” and this time around, she’s got some of her closest friends and family tagging along! Bringing those friends to life in the new book is Dave Scheirer, a local illustrator from Jonestown, PA. Recently, we had the chance to sit down with Dave and get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the second book…
Get to Know Dave Scheirer
“I love how art makes you feel. When I draw, I want to put an expression on a face that’s going to make someone go ‘aw,’ or ‘wow they’re angry,’ or ‘that’s silly’—that’s fun for me, to wrestle with that and try to get people to feel the mood of the image.”
Dave Scheirer graduated from Kutztown University with an art degree, though his passion for art began long before his college graduation, “In my conscious memory I don’t have any moments where I’ve gone ‘I want to be an artist’ it’s just always been a thing,” says Scheirer.
While there may not have been a moment, Scheirer definitely had moments where his artistic abilities caused him recognition.
“One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to draw caricatures of my teachers. I got caught twice, once in high school and once in grad school,” admits Scheirer. After a caricature of his eleventh grade language arts teacher—featuring a nose that resembled Mount Everest—ended up in the hands of said teacher, Scheirer was shocked when the reaction wasn’t anger, “She said, ‘you drew this didn’t you?’ and I said, ‘yeah I did,’ and I was about to apologize and she said ‘may I keep it? This is very good.’ It was a moment of grace which humbled and encouraged me.”
After college, Scheirer began his career as an independent artist, working for a client list that included Crayola Crayons and a number of Bethlehem-based businesses. He later transitioned into a role as a youth minister, but his passion for art remained in many ways. One such way being his family’s Christmas cards, “One of my favorite things I’ve always done is designing my own Christmas cards.. they’re always cartoons and very atypical and silly.”
Today, Scheirer works as a marriage and family therapist, but he’s still keeping his artistic side alive. Early in 2025, after completing illustrations for a book with Align Life Ministries in Downtown Lebanon, Scheirer found out about the new Lebanon Lilly book—and the urgent need for an illustrator.
The Making of “More Adventures with Lebanon Lilly and Friends”
Upon hearing that the deadline for the new book was just two months away—compared to the two and a half years he had for the last book he worked on—Scheirer surely had some hesitation. But feeling that this new opportunity was no coincidence, Scheirer jumped right into his illustrating process.
“My favorite part in general with illustrating is the brainstorming stage and just coming up with ideas,” says Scheirer. “I do pencil sketches first. Then I put the pencil sketches in a storyboard. From the storyboard, I transfer the pencil sketches to the final drawing board. And then I’ll do a miniature color sketch.” By the time Scheirer starts his final version of the drawings, he’s got plenty of reference material—which he keeps hung above his work area as he paints.
While the previous Lebanon Lilly book featured a fluid watercolor design, Scheirer’s artistic style brings a new look to the second book, “I’m a cartoonist, so my vision is to make it as child-friendly as possible with rendered-cartoony characters and more pop.”
Describing the difference of illustrations made for children versus adults, Scheirer explains, “I make them more human-like—the fancy word for it is anthropomorphic—giving them big round eyeballs like humans, smiles with teeth like humans, and having them look at the camera—that helps a kid feel connected.”
Before putting those cartoony characters on the page though, Scheirer had some character development to do with the author of the book and president of Visit Lebanon Valley, Jennifer Kuzo.
Who are the Characters in the Second Lebanon Lilly Book?
In the second Lebanon Lilly book, readers will meet some of Lilly’s closest friends and family—from her friend Manny, the little duck, to her cow grandparents, Gigi and crazy Pop. But these characters are more than just Lilly’s friends—they hold special meaning for author Jennifer Kuzo.
While writing the second book, Kuzo found inspiration for the new characters through her grandchildren—both in their names and their personalities. When Scheirer learned this detail about the book, he got to work on encapsulating each child’s unique personality in their animal characters.
“Jennifer sent me an email with personality traits of each of the characters in the book,” he says. “Those personal touches, even though they are just for Jen and her family, I hope they have a contagious effect in a joyful way for readers too.”
That joy, Scheirer says, is central to his work as an artist, “I like spreading joy through humor and artwork, that’s why cartoons are so fun. There’s a slight element of humor to drawing things in a way that you don’t normally think of them.”
When asked who his favorite character is in the new book, Scheirer is partial to Lilly’s goat friend Jordan, “Probably the goat. If we brought these animals to life, like in an animated cartoon series for television, I think we’d get to know their personalities better and I think the goat would be the comic relief—the silly one, the fun one.”
A Little More About Dave Scheirer
When we interview local organizations and individuals, one of the questions we always ask is “What is your favorite place in the Lebanon Valley?” Scheirer paused for a moment when we asked him this question, stating that he didn’t want to make this story a sad one. But he told us that if we could put anything in this interview it would be this:
“In front of the Cornwall United Methodist Church, where I was a youth minister in the 90s, to the right, they still have a memorial for our daughter, Lucy Scheirer—we have three kids, two on earth and one in heaven. They put up a memorial for Lucy and it’s still there. Though we’ve been gone from that church for 25 years, they still maintain it and weed around it and trim the branches off the memorial tree where it is too close to the building. That’s my spot.”
Join the Adventure
A big thank you to Dave Scheirer for his hand (and paintbrush!) in bringing “More Adventures with Lebanon Lilly & Friends” to life! Grab a copy of the second Lebanon Lilly book today at the Visit Lebanon Valley Welcome Center or at any Lebanon County Library! Books are $10 and proceeds support the Lebanon County Library System.