Who's in charge?
// On this page you will find everything about Who's in charge? (In Dutch: Wie is de baas?) From the process of creating the illustrations and the content of the book to videos, the free lesson plan and reviews.
How do you make politics fun for children aged 8 and up?
For publisher Luitingh-Sijthoff (Youth & Child) I illustrated the non-fiction book Who's in charge? by journalist and
author Arwen Kleyngeld.
This book explains how politics works in an accessible, fluent and funny way, especially for children aged about 8 years and up.
It's chock-full of illustrations, all hand-drawn in black ink and blue pencil. The images and text are always combined, so the explanations are not only clearer but also more memorable.
I designed the infographics in an illustrative style to make them easy to understand and remember. They playfully explain how our democracy works, something that is more important now than ever. Additionally, I created the handwritten texts for the book. texts in the book.
Who's in charge? will be available in (online) bookstores from September 30, 2025.
Book specifications
Cover: Hardcover, full color, matte lamination with Spot UV on the illustration
Interior artwork: Original illustrations in black ink with blue colored pencil
Printing: Black and white with one PMS blue
Page count: 162 pages
Trim size: 176 × 247 mmm
Credits
Publisher: Luitingh-Sijthoff (Youth & Child)
Senior Publisher: Thille Dop
Editor: Hannerlie Modderman
Author: Arwen Kleyngeld
Graphic design book: Hannah Roos
Cover design: DPS Design & Prepress & Melanie Drent
Social media videos: Ralph Behouden (Brand Teasers)
Who’s in Charge? was released one month before the Dutch parliamentary elections and is available in (online) bookstores. In addition, many primary schools use the book for citizenship education.
The book cover is illustrated in full color with colored pencil and pen. The cover characters appear throughout the book, creating a playful narrative thread.
Illustrations in Who's the boss
The book Who's in charge? Contains over 150 illustrations and infographics. Below is a small preview of the book's look and feel.
Patterns with meanings appear regularly in the book.
If you look closely (or keep looking for a while), you'll discover more and more. This makes it not only fun to read, but also fun to keep looking.
The book opens with an ode to children's author Annie MG Schmidt, with her famous words: "If you want to change something later, you have to start thinking now."
At the end of each chapter, a government building appears somewhere in the world. For the final chapter, I drew the iconic Houses of Parliament in London.
In Who’s in Charge? I illustrated the Trias Politica using different “houses” to explain the concept visually. Political movements are also explained by author Arwen using cakes and ice cream, and I brought her explanation to life with illustrated infographics.
The Fundamental Rights City is an infographic illustration in which I have visually incorporated 13 fundamental rights, making them accessible and understandable for the target group.
My mission My goal is to make complex subjects understandable through images. Whether it's the Binnenhof in perspective or the workings of government, I want both children and adults to be able to grasp it at a glance. Above, you see the Binnenhof as a government building.
How does the (Dutch) government actually work? This infographic explains it clearly. The book contains many such illustrated infographics: from parliament and the separation of powers to voting, fundamental rights, the Bill of Rights, and more. Throughout the other chapters, political systems and examples from other countries are explored as well.
Many people elect someone, and that person then makes important decisions on their behalf. That's the foundation of voting and democracy. I made this illustration about this.
Who’s in charge? also includes cards on topics such as ancient Greece, where democracy first began, and the Roman era, as well as global political events. Think of the European Union, UNICEF, the UN, and more. The cards make it easy to see which areas each topic affects, helping children understand how politics works around the world.
In Who's in charge?, I find it interesting to play with time, both in illustrated timelines and by combining past and present. The Roman Forum is an example of this: a Roman draws the Forum as it once looked, but with contemporary elements, such as someone with a cell phone, so the reader can experience both time periods simultaneously.
Hand-drawn illustrations and texts.
All the text in the infographics, illustrations, chapters, and on the book cover is hand-drawn. I wanted to make the book accessible to young readers and show them that politics is for them too.
The Trias Politica appears twice in the book. One version shows how it works with a king, while the other version shows the system of a president, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, as in the United States.
Close-up of the Trias Politica. Here you can see how I created the illustration with pen and colored pencil.
Play and learning element
At the back of the book is a bingo card where children can mark off items that should have been red in politics, but are blue in the book. This clarifies how politics works, while still allowing the book to be interactive and easy to browse. The endpaper features icons that recur in the stories and infographics, creating a rich visual world from the very beginning, allowing children to discover new details each time.
The illustrated icons on the endpapers.
The Who's in charge Bingo Card.
Videos about Who's the boss
In this video I tell you more about the production process and about the book Who's in charge? And let me show you what it looks like.
In this video you can see how the cover of Who's in charge? has been illustrated.
In this video, author and journalist Arwen Kleyngeld talks about the book
Who's the boss?
A while ago I walked through the Dominicanen bookstore in Maastricht and thought: "How wonderful it would be if there was ever a book here for which I made the illustrations." Now it is Who's the boss? in this and many other (online) bookstores in the Netherlands.
I just took an autumnal walk through the city and I came across our children's book everywhere Who's the boss? against, with the voting poster!
It's so nice to see, also online on social media, that bookstores throughout the Netherlands are completely ready for the elections.
In this video:
The Free Bookstore
Children's book garden in Breda
Kemenade & Hollaers Bookstore
It's great to see all the comments and reviews on social media about Who's the boss? to see, and to see how much attention the book gets from the bookstores.
Who's the Boss Lesson Plan
It's crucial to involve children in politics from a young age. This way, they can understand how it works and discover that politics isn't boring, but rather interesting and meaningful.
That's why we've also developed a lesson plan for "Who's the Boss?" All about politics and how it works. It can be downloaded for free from Uitgeverij Luitingh-Sijthoff BV, via this link:
https://www.lsuitgeverij.nl/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/A4_Lesbrief_Wie-is-de-baas_DEF.pdf
Reviews of Who's the Boss?
Review in Mezza (Algemeen Dagblad), October 4, 2025
Reviews
It's truly surprising how many interesting facts have been compiled on this topic. As an illustrator, Melanie Drent has played a significant role in this book. She created all sorts of infographics, for example, that illustrate how something works or what order something goes in. It's nice that everything is handwritten; it feels authentic.
If I were still a teacher in grade 7 or 8, I would be very happy to have a good source to read from in these complicated times.
—
Maaike de Vries, Wise with Language, on Hebban, October 5, 2025
Not necessarily easy topics, but Kleyngeld writes pleasantly unpretentiously and presents the content in understandable, straightforward language. Melanie Drent's witty illustrations and handy infographics are also worth mentioning. Her puzzles and visualizations of topics like the voting process and the constitution clarify Kleyngeld's explanations and make the complex material tangible and manageable for the young audience.
—
Mirjam Noorduijn, NRC, October 24, 2025
All the information is well-supported by Drent's illustrations, which are indispensable in this book. Drent's beautiful illustrations and infographics are humorous and, thanks to the black and blue color scheme, very accessible. They make the information in this book clear. Pay particular attention to the fine lines and the movement; they are very beautiful.
—
Children's Book Kingdom, October 2025
Arwen Kleyngeld's writing style is very accessible and easy to read for all ages. It's remarkable how she managed to write such a complex topic like politics in such an accessible way, while also incorporating a generous dose of humor. Melanie Drent's beautiful illustrations bring the book to life even more, making "Who is in charge?" even more engaging to read and making the topic of politics even easier to understand. This combination of well-written and accessible text and beautiful and illuminating illustrations is the greatest strength of "Who is in charge?"
"Arwen Kleyngeld and Melanie Drent originally wrote and illustrated Who's in charge? for children, but Who is in Charge? is highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about politics, regardless of their age."
- Charity van Tienen, on Clicklit.nl, January 29, 2026
What makes this book particularly strong is the visual support. Melanie Drent's funny, clear illustrations and infographics are incredibly helpful. They make complex topics clear and sometimes even hilarious. This not only helps things stick better but also makes them truly understandable.
- Janneke van Eijndhoven, Motivated to Read, on Hebban, January 29, 2026
Who's in charge selected for Book Bingo 2026!
December 21, 2025
What wonderful news! The book "Who's in charge?" has been selected for @Boekenbingo (upper grades).
It is an honor to be part of this selection.
Book Bingo is an annual, long-running reading promotion event organized by the Ministry of Book Affairs. Participants read 60 titles from a carefully compiled list. "Who's in charge?" is on the senior list, along with 19 other selected titles.
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