Little Polar Bear/El osito polar English/Spanish: (Bilingual Edition) (Bi:libri)

Kleine IJsbeer

by Hans de Beer

The beloved picture book Little Polar Bear—now available in bilingual editions!

It’s a big day for the little polar bear Lars! His father takes him hunting for the very first time, and that night he is so tired from all his lessons that he falls fast asleep. He sleeps so soundly that he doesn’t hear the ice crack, doesn’t feel himself slowly drift away from his father and the arctic—he doesn’t realize that his adventures have just begun.

For more than thirty years Little Polar Bear has enchanted children and grown-ups around the world.

NorthSouth Books is proud to partner with bi:libri in a new line of multilingual children’s books. On the heels of our bilingual Rainbow Fish editions comes Little Polar Bear (paperback), available in ten languages. Our program focuses on unique titles that address universal themes such as friendship, tolerance, and finding courage—bringing great stories and second-language learning fun to children around the world.

A great way to introduce a second language to very young children whether they are English- or Spanish-speaking.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Adventure, Friendship, German Literature

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Hans de Beer was born in Muiden, a small town near Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. He began to draw when he went to school, mostly when the lessons got too boring. In college, he studied history, but he was drawing so many pictures during the lectures that he decided to become an artist. He went on to study illustration at the Rietveld Academy of Art in Amsterdam. Hans de Beer's Little Polar Bear books enjoy great international success and have been published in eighteen languages in 27 countries.

Reviews

[♡ Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡]

Der kleine Eisbär Lars fühlt sich wohl am Nordpol, doch eines Tages bricht ein Stück seiner Eisscholle und er treibt ab. Er treibt bis nach Afrika, wo er auf neue Freunde trifft und viele Farben kennenlernt. Am Nordpol ist doch alles weiß. Lars hat Heimweh und seine neuen Freunde helfen ihm dabei, wieder nach Hause zu kommen.
💜 Eine sehr süße Geschichte für Kinder! Ich habe sie diesmal als Hörbuch gehört, wo es zusätzlich noch einige Lieder zum Mitsingen gibt. Hat mir gut gefallen!

[Sophie Crane]

Very beautiful pictures and a nice story that warms up your heart. The best part is the conclusion as with every excellent book is!

[GoldGato]

Lars is a polar bear cub who is excited to be going on his first hunting trip. His father will be teaching him what to do, including tracking on land and even diving under water for fish. But when the day ends and the two fall asleep on an ice floe, Lars wakes up to discover his portion of the floe has broken away from his father and is now drifting in the vast ocean. Life will quickly become an unwanted adventure for the little bear and a test for how to handle unexpected adversities.

As the ice melts, Lars luckily finds a big wooden barrel floating past, so he jumps aboard. The currents end up taking him to a strange place full of swampy foliage and hot sand. To cool off, Lars runs to a river only to be surprised by Henry the Hippo!



The polar bear is at first scared but learns that Henry is a friend. Will the two find a way for little Lars to return home? Or will the polar bear learn to live in a jungle?

This illustrated children’s picture book is cute without waylaying the reader (adult or child) with too much about the climate crisis. Sure, the ice melts but how does the young cub handle such a problem? It’s a good read for children to learn how life throws you curves, while providing lovely illustrations by Hans de Beer. And Henry the Hippo is quite the supporting character and will probably become the favorite of the child reader.

Book Season = Winter (snow piles)

[Ugnė Lukošienė]

Tiesiog atradimas!!! 💛💛💛

[Abigail]

When Lars the polar bear goes to sleep behind a pile of snow one night, he has no idea that when he wakes up with bit of ice will have separated from the rest, and taken him far from his father. Eventually landing on tropical shores, he meets Henry the hippopotamus and Marcus the eagle, sees how animals in that strange part of the world live, and is then given a ride home on the back of Samson the gray whale.

Originally published in Switzerland as Kleiner Eisbär wohin fährst du? (literally: "Little Polar Bear, Where Are You Going?"), this first of many books about little Lars and his adventures offers a sweet, reassuring story, one in which the eponymous ursine protagonist goes out into the world, explores and learns, and then comes home. The artwork, which looks to be done in watercolor, is quite lovely. My favorite scene was the one in which Lars rides on his father's back, the snow falling all around them. Recommended to young polar bear lovers, and to any child who has dreamed of going on a voyage of exploration.

[Radwa]

A cute little story about a small polar bear who gets separated from his family at the North Pole and travels to Africa and what he sees there. It's a cute story but the production of the netgalley copy wasn't the best.

[Linda]

Dit is zoo schattig en lief!

Spoiler: Een eind goed al goed verhaal.

[Steffi]

Auch ein Zug in die kindliche Vergangenheit.
Gibt es Lars den Eisbären noch?
Fand ich als Kind richtig toll und heute immer noch.

[nini]

te kort :(

[Mandi]

This is a super cute story! Plume has an unexpected voyage, but is fortunate enough to meet some very kind and helpful friends. Children (and adults) would love the story and the pictures.

I read this as a beginner to intermediate French language-learner, and was able to understand the gist of the story almost entirely, even without understanding 100% of the words. I looked up the words I didn't know at the end of each page to make sure I was truly understanding everything. This is a great book for those just starting out with French to practice their comprehension and increase their vocabulary and knowledge of expressions. Bon chance to my fellow French students!

[Lucie]

Absolutely adorable story, kind atmosphere and very nice, simple and pleasantly poetic language. (Also a great way to start reading in French!)

[Jason]

ik vind dit boek leuk

[Rick Christiansen]

Jackie gavevit a 3 out of 5 and a 8.5 out of 10

[Sophie Deltenre]

Zo schattig!

[Kimberly]

A story of a polar bear cub who gets separated from his father and the adventure that follows.

[Spencer]

2021
Gift from Harper's grandmother

These books are so cute

[Tamara]

I got an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

3.5 stars

This was a very sweet story about a little polar bear who drifts off to Africa where he meets some new friends who help him home. The illustrations were super cute and it was very enjoyable, just wished it was a bit longer.

[Luisa Knight]

Translated into 18 languages, this book is entertaining for both parents and children. The pictures are delightful!

Ages: 4 - 8

#geography #artic

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.

[Chirag]

Cute little story

Less than 30 pages ! This is illustrated story book. It's so tiny and smaller than my phone! Story about a little polar bear accidentally went on adventure .... meet new friend and discover our Land which is polluted and not clean like he's home! Sweet book for children.

[Alicia Steagall]

Excellent adorable adventurous story

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine)]

Author and Illustrator: Hans de Beer
Age Recommendation: Under 10
Art Style: Realistic drawn
Topic/ Theme: Exploration
Setting: North Pole, Jungle
Series: Lars, the Little Polar Bear

This is quite a difficult book to review, it was written in 1987 while it certainly would have been a wonderful book when it was published I can't help but think that it hasn't aged well and modern younglings expect more from there books than this will deliver. I am not a mother I am 100% certain of that.
I see a substantial difference between the modern style of integrated text and illustration and this older style with disjointed illustration and text. Though the text and images do move around the page creating some interest. There are some gorgeous additional illustrations in the book like Lars on a vine on one end page and him eating a banana on the other. The situations mentioned in the text but feel fitting given the tropical setting.
I like the variation in the illustrations due to the settings. From the muted tones of the North Pole to the bright cheer of the tropics. The characters have adorable expressions.
The story is at just the right level. It is simple enough to be followed by young children but enough themes involved to made younglings continue to think as they get older especially with prompting.

This a book that is perfect for the right child, if a child sees it and likes the look of it they'll likely enjoy it but like so many books it needs to be their choice.

[Amanda Lavelle]

NB was provided with a copy of this book from NetGalley although it was listed as Little Bear and the Pandas, which is not what the story I received was. I received this story and the review below is for that story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.
I read this book with my 8 year old son and he gave it a thumbs up. Personally I really like a snowy setting in the stories I read to my children- not sure why as I don’t like being in snow but I think it’s a book hangover from reading The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe as a child. This book is nothing like that story, but you can still get snow fulfilment. It’s a story of being lost, making new friends, accepting help, and importance of home. This story even prompted a discussion on climate change with my child so it’s got to be worth a read just for that alone.

[Wynter]

Little Polar Bear is the first book in the Little polar Bear Series. Lars is the main character in this book who at the very beginning, gets separated from his father by a piece of ice that broke away. He then traveled to a very far away land which is referred to as the tropics. Lars met many animals over there such as a hippo, chameleon, an eagle, and so many more! It is an inspirational story that shows you to never give up. The illustrations aren't my favorite, but it is definitely just a personal style of mine that I like! The ministrations added to the story but the style was not my favorite, it seemed a bit messy. I give this book a 4/5 on my scale. While it was a good story with a very inspirational message, the illustrations ween't my favorite and slightly took away from the story line in my opinion.

[Simon Jongekryg]

This is the story of a small polar bear named Lars who drifted away at sea and ended up at a tropical island with a jungle. At first Lars was scared because he had lost his dad and thought he would never find him again. However, with the help of various animals Lars was able to safely return to his father at the North Pole. This story contains a lot of lessons that could be taught to children as they read the book. One big lesson that could be related to this story is the issue of climate change and how it affects animal’s habitats. Another lesson that could be taught from this story is the power of friendship and the importance of helping people. This book did a really good job of keeping me hooked throughout the entire story wondering if Lars was going to get back home. Great read!

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks)]

***Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC for honest review***

So this is confusing, but although I'm supposed to be reviewing Little Polar Bear and the Pandas
by Hans de Beer, the download I was sent was for Little Polar Bear "Where Are you Going, Lars?"
by Hans de Beer, another book in that same series, so I will tell you what I thought of that one.

I'd read a Lars polar bear story before, with a husky in it, and this one was with a hippo and an eagle. It was very cute (thought I am partial to huskys) and followed pretty much the same formula as the first one I read. Very sweet art as well. If you're a fan of this character/series, I see no reason why you wouldn't want to pick this one up as well.

[Jennifer Dell]

little polar bear falls asleep one night behind his snow pile to protect himself from the wind, but wakes up on a small piece of ice in the middle of the ocean. He then finds himself on a tropical island filled with all kinds of colorful unfamiliar creatures. He manages to meet some new friends but really misses his family.

[Sidney McQuade]

This was a very cute book about a little polar bear who fell asleep and woke up not in a fimiliar place with no idea how to get home. He soon gets befriended by a hippo who then has a whale help him get back home. The suspense of him being in an unfamiliar place, worried about how he would get home, would surely grab the students' attention.

[Tweller83]

6/6/23: I quite enjoyed this little picture book. Quite fantastic, but fun nevertheless. A young polar bear gets lost and sees quite a lot of things that normal polar bears do not see. Cooperation between animals was a theme too. Sweet and well drawn picture book.

Received from Witt Elementary (closing school).

[AJ]

6/6/23: I quite enjoyed this little picture book. Quite fantastic, but fun nevertheless. A young polar bear gets lost and sees quite a lot of things that normal polar bears do not see. Cooperation between animals was a theme too. Sweet and well drawn picture book.

Received from Witt Elementary (closing school).

[Libby Burak]

This book is super sweet and fun to read, Little Polar Bear shows that even when things don’t go as planned, you can still be brave and figure it out. Lars the polar bear gets lost but keeps trying and meets new friends along the way. It’s a great reminder that it’s okay to make mistakes and explore new things that’s how we learn and grow!