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. 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. Flavia: My favourite spread is the one where Gustavo is looking at the monsters playing because it really reminds me of my childhood experiences.

Flavia: I just moved from Mexico to the UK to do a PhD, I have been living on my current address only for a few months so I am afraid that it still needs decoration, but here are pictures of my studio in Mexico City. She has an MA in Children's Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art and was shortlisted for the Sebastian Walker Award.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.

Some of my favourite characters in the book are Katerina the ‘Catrina’, the elegant skull girl in pink, based upon an engraving by Guadalupe Posada; Alma, the invisible girl who happens to be the prettiest monster in town; and the witch – with a secret name that I cannot reveal yet – who will feature as the main character on my next picture book! 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. 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!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! Was the idea behind the story largely based on your own childhood and why was this an important message for you to share? He is good at doing all sorts of paranormal things, like walking through walls, making objects fly and glowing in the dark. Yesterday a parent came over to tell me how impressed she was by the book fair and that you did a fabulous job of selling the books to the children first. 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.

On 2022 you will be able to see my second picture book with Walker Books about a family of witches who are experts in the dark arts of patisserie. 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!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.