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. ( )

No valid German National Library records retrieved.

Match found in the German National Library.

The theme of the book is that things that don’t go as plan can turn into a learning experience. I enjoyed reading this story because the author incorporated information into the structure of the story. For example, when the little bear washes out to sea and stumbles upon a jungle the bear learns the differences between hot and cold climates, the different animals that live in the jungle (Hippopotamus and chameleon), and the terrain of the jungle (rocks and trees). The author fuses fantasy with information allowing for a young reader to enjoy reading and to learn something through the process. Another reason why I enjoyed the book was the ability to relate the animals to humans but still retain their animal abilities. For example, there were things that the bear couldn’t do that the hippo could and vice versa; the bear couldn’t swim but he could climb the tree whereas the hippo could swim but had a hard time climbing. This assigns the characteristics typical of that animal but the inclusion of dialogue between the characters and the bear’s journey to get home gave the animals human like qualities. ( )

Little Polar Bear is a book about a young polar bear cub that is separated from his father one night when the ice that he was sleeping on broke away and drifted off far away from his home. He ends up in what appears to be Africa and survives with the help of new friends, who also help him to get home. ( )