The directory «Plots»

de Beer Hans
(b. 1957)
«Little Polar Bear»

Illustrator Hans de Beer was born in 1957 in Muiden, the Netherlands. He broke of his history studies to attend the Rietveld Academy, where he specialized in illustration. He works as a freelance illustrator for books and children's magazines. He is also the author of the Little Polar Bear series. His books have been published in numerous languages. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was present in Bobo magazine with the comic about the little pig Onno.

Hans de Beer's «Little Polar Bear» books combine gentle stories and gentle messages for young children. His soft-toned illustrations and attractive little characters readily appeal to the young, and his little polar bear, Lars, is an engaging kindly innocent.

In this tale little Lars discovers a frightened little reindeer that has been caught in a snow storm and separated from his mother and the herd. Lars leads him along the way he knows the reindeer take, but when they reach the herd they find the reindeer's traditional path blocked by fences and a pipeline. The little bear, with the help of some musk ox, manages to break through and give the reindeer passage - but, of course, it is only a temporary solution. Young children will understand this too as they learn a lesson on man's impact on the environment.

German Federal Republic, 1999, Lars

Switzerland, 2008, Lars

Switzerland, 2008.03.04, Bariswil. Lars