Gustavo, the Shy Ghost (The World of Gustavo)

Product Information

The Klaus Flugge Prize is funded personally by Klaus Flugge and run independently of Andersen Press. Mat: The design of the whole book, from the cover to the endpapers and everything in between is a delight. 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.

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. She has an MA in Children's Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art and was shortlisted for the Sebastian Walker Award. So, plucking up all his courage, he sends a very special letter: “Dear Monsters, I would like to invite you to my violin concert at the Day of the Dead party…”With exquisite detail and humour, Flavia Z. When that didn’t happen, she began her career as a graphic designer and a children’s book illustrator. You guys were so fab and Dawn was such a lovely presence in the schools - I will absolutely be in touch next time I'm in your neck of the woods.A great story about making friends by being yourself and the illustrations are a constant visual delight.

Alongside a delightful story that holds our attention throughout, the illustrations are detailed and entrancing.Mat: I got the feeling, when reading through the book, that the whole cast of Gustavo had a special place in both the story and in your heart. When I started making the book, I didn’t notice how much I had in common with Gustavo, but the more I got to understand him, I realised that telling this story was important for me because I wanted to show that being shy doesn’t mean that you don’t enjoy the company of people – or in this case, monsters! In Mexico we have a widespread tradition of hand lettering, you can see it everywhere, so I designed and traced the letters because I wanted them to have the same aesthetics as the drawings. I have even talked the head into a little revamp of the library so that we can display them properly! Yourself and Bob are much cherished in our booky world and I personally really appreciate everything that you do.

Throughout the whole story, there was an authentic sense of someone knowing and celebrating Mexican culture and the vernacular. By the way, Candlewick Press (English) edition features Gustavo hiding in the shape of a book under the dust jacket. I’ve been seeing this book on Pinterest/ig influencers’ photos of their kids’ seasonal bookshelves and I wasn’t sure about it—I am very picky about what messages I am representing to my toddler through books, and like them to have nice illustrations as well. 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. This story deftly weaves themes of inclusion, friendship and being true to yourself with striking artwork inspired by the author/illustrator’s upbringing in Mexico City. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. I’m glad this book has given my toddler a character to identify with—it’s a very validating feeling to have your own complex emotions represented! Flavia: Learning how to use colour has been a slow process, I remember that on my first illustrations I tended to use all the colours of the rainbow and all the textures at the same time – what a nightmare!