Friso Henstra

Friso Henstra (1928-2013) — Dutch artist, illustrator, and comics artist. He was born in Amsterdam on February 9, 1928, and died there September 28, 2013. The son of a painter, he began drawing from early childhood. He studied at the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (two years drawing), then, after military service in Indonesia, he took evening classes in sculpture.

His early work appeared in the satirical magazine Mandril, the youth magazine Olidin, and the magazine Kris-Kras. Together with writer W. Schippers he created the comic strip Olidin for the magazine of the same name, which ran from about 1957 until 1963.

From 1969 to 1986 he taught illustrative and life drawing at the Art Academy in Arnhem. In 1968 he illustrated the Dutch translation of Jay Williams’s Tomorrow’s Fire (De Koningskruistocht). Jay Williams appreciated his art and invited him to illustrate The Practical Princess, among other books.

In later years he illustrated many children’s books (for example The Silver Whistle, The Round Sultan and the Straight Answer, Petronella, Mighty Mizzling Mouse, Forgetful Fred), winning awards such as the Golden Apple at the Biennale of Illustrations Bratislava. Since 1978 he also wrote books himself, which he illustrated.

Instagram | instagram.com/frisohenstra
Website | frisohenstra.com
Amazon | Friso Henstra


Books

Forgetful Fred

Forgetful Fred

Fred forgets everything — his head is filled only with music. The flute plays, and all else just slips away. Even when he’s sent to fetch the Bitter Fruit of Satisfaction for the richest man in the world, he seems more tuned in to melody than to mission. Along the […]

Sophie the circus princess

Sophie the circus princess

On the edge of the village, Sophie lives in a small house with her cow and her hens. Days pass slowly, marked by the simple routines of village life: fetching water, tending the animals, moving through familiar paths. Yet behind the quiet surface, traces of another life remain—a life of […]

School for Sillies

School for Sillies

King Kilian is convinced he’s the cleverest man alive — and that his daughter is just as clever. So clever, in fact, that she’ll only marry someone even smarter than she is, which means: no one at all. The princess despairs over a life of loneliness until she meets Kit, […]

Wait and see

Wait and see

Mighty Herman is a little man who keeps failing at invention after invention, but he’s not giving up. He builds big things that flop, makes bold machines that backfire, until at last he comes up with something everyone actually uses — the safety pin. Henstra’s illustrations feel old-timey but sharp: […]

Space cats

Space cats

Space Cats is a quirky sci-fi/animal mash-up: Perry befriends a cat that’s not just domestic but cosmic. The feline comes from another planet, and before long Perry is swept into an adventure far beyond backyard fences. On a distant world he encounters not only friendly cats but also their fierce […]

The youngest captain

The youngest captain

Pim is the youngest in his family, but he’s determined to be captain of the boat. While the grown-ups doubt him, Pim is busy fighting “ice people” with hot pancake cannonballs and steering the table upside-down like a ship. Imagination makes him taller than his years, until the day comes […]

Mighty Mizzling Mouse and the red cabbage house

Mighty Mizzling Mouse and the red cabbage house

This wordless picture book by Dutch artist Friso Henstra is about a pair of mice determined to build a cute little house out of a red cabbage. After much effort, the house is finally ready — but unexpectedly it attracts someone else and suddenly becomes the dinner of a cunning […]

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