Pippeloentje may be a young bear, but he experiences the adventures that young children can easily relate to: eating porridge, sleeping peacefully ("Give the bear a kiss, goodnight, Pippeloentje!"), playing in the fresh air, occasionally being mischievous, and celebrating his birthday. In Fleur van der Weel's warm world, he's surrounded by loving bear parents and a menagerie of animal friends with whom he has endless fun. The first introduction to Pippeloentje came in 1950 when Annie M.G. Schmidt wrote the first verse about him for the children's page of Het Parool. The charming simplicity of her words immediately struck a chord with the public, and Pippeloentje has remained a beloved classic in book form for almost 60 years.