Swiss publisher North-South presents this anthology containing the ten Little Polar Bear picture-books, from the very first (Little Polar Bear), originally published in 1987, through the tenth and most recent (Little Polar Bear and the Submarine), published in 2011. A celebration of the 30th Anniversary of this little ursine character and his adventures, this anthology also offers an afterword exploring author/illustrator Hans de Beer's life story, artistic training, and method.

Having already read the ten stories contained in The Adventures of the Little Polar Bear, reviewed elsewhere on LibraryThing, my primary interest in picking up this anthology was the afterword, which is uncredited. I found it quite informative, and particularly appreciated the story of de Beers' youth, and the description of his artistic process, and some of his influences. My sole disappointment lay in the fact that the original language of the stories is not mentioned. The colophon for each book (and here) mentions that these titles were first published in Switzerland, in the German language. But given that de Beers is Dutch, I would think that they were written first in that language. Were they translated into German from Dutch, or did he write them in German originally? I wish that had been clarified. Leaving aside that one issue, I enjoyed this anthology (which stands to reason, having enjoyed the stories contained therein), and recommend it to fans of de Beers and his little polar bear hero. ( )