This winning debut picture book from Mexican artist Flavia Z.

Drago about finding the

courage to make friends is perfect for the spooky season—or anytime.

Gustavo is good at doing all sorts of ghostly things:

walking through walls, making objects fly, and
glowing in the dark. And he loves almost nothing
more than playing beautiful music on his violin.
But Gustavo is shy, and some things are harder for
him to do, like getting in a line to buy eye scream
or making friends with other monsters. Whenever
he tries getting close to them, he realizes they just
can’t see him. Now that the Day of the Dead is fast
approaching, what can he do to make them notice
him and to share with them something he loves?
With fancifully detailed artwork and visual humor,
debut picture book creator Flavia Z. Drago’s vivid
illustrations tell a sweet and gently offbeat story of
loneliness, bravery, and friendship that is sure to be
a treat for little ghouls and goblins everywhere.

On sale July 14, 2020

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost
English HC: 978-1-5362-1114-6
Also available as an e-book
Gustavo, el fantasmita tímido
Spanish HC: 978-1-5362-1414-7
$16.99 ($22.99 CAN)
Ages 3–7 • 40 pages

Illustrations © 2020 by Flavia Z. Drago

 A Note from

In 2016, just for fun, I wrote tweets about how my life would be if I were
a monster. I imagined my monster-self going to work, throwing a party,
buying groceries, having pets, and so on. One of those tweets was about the
reason that ghosts wear sheets—it must be because they are quite shy, so they use
their sheets to hide. And so the seed for a picture book was planted in my head.
As a child, I remember sitting by myself during lunch breaks and parties and, just like
Gustavo, wondering how it was so easy for everyone to talk and play with one another. I
would have loved for someone to tell me that being shy is OK and that, as scary as it might
be, you can always find a way to make good friends.
In 2018, I received a master’s degree in children’s book illustration from Anglia Ruskin
University, which led to the opportunity to meet the wonderful people of Walker Books and
Candlewick Press. I was really trying to impress them by talking about my picture book
ideas, and I mentioned the ghost story. To my surprise, they loved it! I never would have
guessed that someone would want to publish a book in which ghosts, calaveritas (skulls),
devils, witches, and other creatures happily live together. But it was even more surprising to
me that they gave me total freedom and encouraged me to locate the story in Mexico during
the Day of the Dead. I just couldn’t believe it!
In short, this book is a mix of my own experiences and some of my absolute favorite
things in the world: monsters and the Day of the Dead. I hope that you will enjoy it as much
as I loved making it!

Flavia Z. Drago was born and raised in Mexico City. As a child, she wanted to
be a mermaid. When that didn’t happen, she began her career as a graphic
designer and a children’s book illustrator. She loves color, texture, and
shapes and enjoys creating them with different materials and a bit of digital
sorcery. She lives in Mexico.
Photo by Flavia Z. Drago

Candlewick Press • www.candlewick.com

Illustrations © 2020 by Flavia Z. Drago