I know that this is not how the story ends – at some point I even considered that Gustavo could be a real boy disguised as a ghost – but as the plot evolved the sheet joke became irrelevant as Gustavo was already showing his true self.

When that didn’t happen, she began her career as a graphic designer and a children’s book illustrator. Although he loves all the usual things about being paranormal such as walking through walls, he’s too shy to join in and make friends. When I was in kindergarten – just like Gustavo – I sat by myself during lunch breaks, watching children play while being amazed by the fact that they seemed to be completely happy to talk and play with each other. From Mexico my favourite illustrators are Erika Meza, Estelí Meza (they are not related), Juan Palomino, Jimena Estibaliz, Pam Medina and Sofia Weidner.Mat: With this in mind, another thing that I adored about the book was the celebration of the Day of the Dead. I would love to do some collaborations, or to illustrate someone else’s text, however at the moment my hands are quite full with all my PhD reading and experimentation. Throughout the whole story, there was an authentic sense of someone knowing and celebrating Mexican culture and the vernacular.

As an adult, I immediately loved it—in college, I threw what would have been a really fun Halloween party for my work friends, who all said they would come and told me literally just hours before how excited they were…but when it came time for the party, literally no one showed up except my 3 closer friends. Your selection was perfect for our children and what really made the difference was your ability to engage with each child, discuss their interests and help them to choose a suitable book based on your extensive knowledge of the books you were selling. You can also watch this YouTube video where I share the process behind the scenes, and my inspiration for the artwork. Not only is Gustavo the Shy Ghost set within the Day of the Dead, but the warmth between the characters, the interest and unique storytelling delight! You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.As a fun fact, in the graveyard scenes, you can find the names of my late grandparents engraved in the tombstones – Chuta, Lupe, Rolando and Tuto.

Flavia: The idea for the book came after a tweet I wrote in 2016, where I said that the reason for ghosts to wear sheets was that they are very shy. Flavia: My favourite spread is the one where Gustavo is looking at the monsters playing because it really reminds me of my childhood experiences.This experience has been fantastic primarily for the children, the school and also for me (professionally).

I can tell you that making drawings with lots of details has been something that I love doing because those details help me to build a more convincing and unique world.The Klaus Flugge Prize is funded personally by Klaus Flugge and run independently of Andersen Press. We’ve had this book for a couple weeks now, and last night he was telling me (as we had a conversation during potty time lol) that Gustavo was “scared of the kids…no, not the kids. As I slowly learned, I realised that you can do wonders with a limited palette because it gives coherence to the illustrations, creates atmospheres, catches the eye, and also, colour conveys meaning, so it’s one of the most valuable tools to master. They would also only drop off a case of books and leave us to run it – it was so lovely to have you on hand to chat to the children and recommend them books, as well as the small (but appreciated!