‘You need muscle strength in your life,’ Mrs. Kamla said. ‘Like the strength to carry or lift something - of course, everyone understands that. But you also need a strength here.’ She placed her hands on her chest. ‘Here, inside, in your heart. A different kind of strength. A strength to carry your worries.’ *

* I translated this from a Dutch from the book and did my utter best to do it justice 🙂   

A new project with Dutch publisher Lemniscaat

It was early this year (2026) that Linda from Lemniscaat approached me, asking me if I had time to illustrate a new book, and if I would be willing to read the manuscript titled 'Spierballen' by Guido Bottinga. (The word ‘Spierballen' is Dutch for ‘muscles’ - mostly of the arms, or ‘muscle strength’.)

The title immediately piqued my curiosity, and I wondered what the story could be about. I’d only just finished a client project, so I actually had time to read for a change. So I settled into our armchair, grabbed a cup of tea, and dug into the manuscript. And then, to my own surprise, I finished reading the story that very same afternoon.

So when I emailed Linda, my answer was clear: 'Yep, I would love to illustrate this book.’
She put me in touch with Guido, with whom I had an immediate click, and we started the project. 

What’s the story about?

This summary, written by Lemniscaat (and translated by me), sums it up perfectly:  

Siska just moved to a city where she doesn’t know anyone. Her mom works a lot, and her new school is super lame. Fortunately, there’s her neighbor, Mrs. Kamla. She’s small, old, has skinny legs, and a room full of flowers and gods. She calls Siska “misi” and tells her about crocodiles in the rivers of Suriname, about her sister Indra, about how to cook for everyone even when no one’s there, and she tells her about muscle strength. Not the ones in your arms, but in your heart.
And then, to her luck, Siska gets to know Inke, her dog Stip (Spot in English), and Kaya - the best friends she could ever wish for.

'Muscle Strength' or 'Muscles' is a story about a girl who discovers that you become stronger through the things you carry or embrace, not what you avoid. It's about friendship and what it means to be there for someone else. A story that lingers in the heart, written in Guido Bottinga’s warm style, with beautiful, flower-filled illustrations by Miriam Bos.

I’ve never had the honor before to illustrate a book with a topic like this, and I really gave it a lot of thought before I started making the illustrations. Lemniscaat requested so-called spot illustrations (those are smaller illustrations without a background), and in the end, I chose to create images without showing any of the main characters. I wanted to allow the reader of the book the space to fill them in with their own imagination. So instead, I chose to paint more neutral illustrations, covering some of the objects and scenes, and flowers as described in the book.

A fun fact:

I just told you that I didn’t paint the main characters (except for one framed photo) for the inside illustrations of the book. But secretly, I added some glimpses of them on the cover. Can you find them? 

With love,