Meet the author

Flavia Z. Drago.

Writer & illustrator · Mexico

Flavia Z. Drago: Mexican author-illustrator behind Gustavo the Shy Ghost and Leila the Perfect Witch — bright, folk-art-inflected emotional-literacy picture books for ages 4–7.

Flavia Z. Drago is a Mexican author-illustrator born in Mexico City, whose distinctive monster-themed picture books, Gustavo, the Shy Ghost, Leila, the Perfect Witch, Vlad, the Fabulous Vampire, have become a fixture of the gift-shelf and emotional-literacy end of UK and US children's publishing. Drago's style is bright, character-rich and unmistakably Mexican-folk-art-inflected, with strong use of pattern, colour and exaggerated character design. Her books typically take a single emotional theme (shyness, perfectionism, identity) and externalise it through a sweetly drawn supernatural protagonist. Strong giftability and read-aloud quality for ages 4–7, particularly for sensitive children processing feelings.