This is the sweet story of Gustavo, a painfully shy ghost who would like to be noticed and play with friends but feels unseen by everyone. He’s determined to change this, though, so he invites everyone to a violin concert and then, finally, feels truly seen. This is a basic but well written story of dealing with the discomfort of shyness and the importance of letting others get to know you. However, the real attraction with this book is how beautifully it’s illustrated. Using a muted color palette that somehow becomes vibrant, each page is worth lingering over (particularly for plant or paper cutting enthusiasts as there is painstaking attention given to houseplants and papel picado).

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath