Heidi: Everyman's Library CHILDREN'S CLASSICS

Johanna Spyri (Author)
Johanna Spyri (1827¿1901) was born Johanna Heusser at Hirzel, a pretty Swiss village about seven miles from Zurich, the daughter of a doctor, and one of a large family of children. She had a happy childhood, and married in 1852 a young lawyer friend of her brother's, Bernhard Spyri, moving to Zurich. The couple had one son, also called Bernhard, who never enjoyed good health, and his mother began making up stories to tell him. She first published one of these in 1870 to raise money for soldiers wounded in the Franco-Prussian War. Heidi was published in 1880, inspired by Johanna's love for the Alpine countryside of her youth, and was a great success from the start. In later life, after the death of her husband and son, Johanna took a young niece to live with her and devoted herself to writing and charity work. She published more than fifty books for adults and children, but none so famous as Heidi.

 • "Many a childhood vision of the Alps was founded on the nineteenth-century Swiss classic." --Guardian
I would rather be with my grandfather on the Alp than anywhere on earth!' When Heidi is sent to live in the Swiss mountains with her bad-tempered old Grandfather, everyone in the village feels sorry for her. What will a little girl do in such an isolated home, and with such a grumpy companion? But Heidi soon discovers a secret: Grandfather isn't nearly as cross as he looks - plus she can play all day in the fields among the bright flowers. But then Heidi is whisked away again to be a companion to a injured girl in the city. She longs for her beautiful mountain home - how will she ever get back again? BACKSTORY: Find out which character you most resemble and try out some Heidi-inspired activities!

The narrative is so simple, yet so evocative that you can almost smell the Alpine trees...It was one of the first books to celebrate the way children see the world around them and was intended, according to Spyri, as 'a story for children and those who love children'. Daily Mail The story of the orphan sent to live with her grandfather on his alp, her stay in Frankfurt and triumphant homecoming is, arguably, more popular with the world's children, than the Harry Potter series Daily Telegraph Like Huck Finn and Harry Potter, Heidi is an orphan in a strange, foreign world who overcomes obstacles, remains strong and good-humoured and evokes emotions and sympathies that children can relate to Independent on Sunday Many a childhood vision of the Alps was founded on the nineteeth-century Swiss classic Guardian