[2] Vanistendael's career began with the illustration of Flemish tales written by her father, Vlaamse Sprookjes (1995), then Het Koeienboek by Bibi Dumon Tak (2000).

[1] The book, which mixes drama, humor, love, and lightness, according to Le Soir, immediately won several cultural prizes and was part of the selection for the Essentiels d'Angoulême in 2009,[1] and for the Prix Tournesol [fr].

[4] The storyline echoes a novel by Geert van Istendael, Bericht uit de burcht (News from the citadel), which expresses his dismay at his daughter's relationship with an undocumented man.

[10] The main character, Miquel, is a failed writer who sells candy to support his family and agrees to become a bodyguard for a politician threatened by ETA, which ends up destroying his life.

[12] Vanistendael joined forces with Michael De Cock [nl] for a children's series, Rosie et Moussa, which appears in Dutch and as a serial in Brussel Deze Week before being the subject of four volumes.

[13] Director Dorothée Van Den Berghe [nl] was inspired by it to create the film Rosie et Moussa, released in theaters in October 2018.

[14] In 2019, inspired by the character of Penelope in the Odyssey, Vanistendael delivers Les Deux Vies de Pénélope, where a doctor mother engages in humanitarian work and distances herself from her family, especially her daughter.