Heidi

Name: Heidi
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: Johanna Spyri
ISBN: 9781470357146

Author: Johanna Spyri

Narrator: John McDonough

Unabridged: 10 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 04/05/2013

Categories: Children's Fiction, Classic Children's Stories, Regional Stories

Synopsis

Orphaned at an early age, the young girl Heidi finds a home high in the Swiss Alps with her reclusive grandfather. There, each glorious day is filled with discovery, adventure and the friendship of a gentle goat boy, Peter. But when Heidi is sent away from her mountain paradise to a large, cold city, she is determined to find a way to return to the place she loves. For generations, children around the world have fallen under the spell of this small alpine girl. Heidi is the heartwarming story of an exuberant child's goodness, courage, and love. Filled with unforgettable characters and majestic scenery, it is an enduring classic of children's literature. Author Johanna Spyri lived her entire life in a small Swiss town near Zurich. Heidi, first published in 1881, is a largely autobiographical work that echoes Ms. Spyri's affection for the countryside, flowers and animals that surrounded her. John McDonough brings Heidi vibrantly to life, enriching this beloved tale with the warmth and drama of his narration.

About Johanna Spyri

Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) was an author of children's stories and is best known for writing Heidi. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubunden, the setting she would later use in her novels.

In 1852, Johanna married Bernhard Spyri, a lawyer. While living in Zurich, she began to write about life in the country. Her first book, A Leaf on Vrony's Grave, was published in 1871, and the following year further stories by Spyri—for both adults and children—appeared, among them the tale of Heidi that became an instant and enduring success. Heidi, the story of an orphan girl who lives with her grandfather in the Alps, is famous not only for its vivid portrayal of the landscape but also for its understanding of how children see life and experience their feelings.

Johanna's husband and her only child, a son named Bernhard, both died in 1884. Alone, she devoted herself to charitable causes and wrote over fifty more stories before her death in 1901. An icon in Switzerland, Johanna's portrait was placed on a postage stamp in 1951 and on a twenty-CHF (Swiss franc) commemorative coin in 2001.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Tharindu on May 03, 2021

"I would a thousand times rather be with grandfather on the mountain than anywhere else in the world.” I love this book. I love it more and more every time I re-read it, for, there is very little else I found relaxing and make me feel great, than reliving the life of Heidi among the beautiful mountai......more

Goodreads review by Ruby on June 08, 2021

I can't believe I've only just read this! This is such a charming children's book with utterly beautiful descriptions of the mountains which fill you with gratitude and wonder and wish you were in the countryside.......more

Goodreads review by Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ on May 12, 2021

Heidi, a Swiss book originally published in German in 1881, was one of those books I grew up with: my mother had a simplified, abridged version of it that I read many times and loved as a child. When I realized the GR group "Catching up on the Classics" was doing it as a group read, I jumped in, exc......more

Goodreads review by Justin on August 30, 2018

The most feel-good story of all time? Possibly. Heidi’s infectious pleasantness carries easily over the Swiss alps and into my life, nearly 140 years later. Despite a plot of idealized happiness, the cast of characters are not without flaw. The moments of conflict, though never described in severe t......more

Goodreads review by emma on November 05, 2019

I don't know what it is about this book, but I just...didn't like it that much? And I really like classics. And I really like children's books. And I REALLY like children's classics. I also really, REALLY liked the other three books (A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables) in this......more