Erick and Sally

by Johanna Spyri, Helene H. Boll (Translator)

Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) was an author of children's stories. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels. Her first book titled A Leaf on Vrony's Grave, was published in 1871 and the following year further stories for both adults and children appeared, among them the tale of Heidi (1880) that became an instant and enduring success. Her 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. Amongst her other works Uncle Titus and His Visit to the Country (1881), Toni, the Little Woodcarver (1882), Gritli's Children (1883) and Moni the Goat-Boy (1886).

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Johanna Spyri was a Swiss author of children's stories, best known for 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 Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels.

Reviews

[Angie Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm...this one wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite from the author, and I'm not sure I can put my finger on why. Johanna Spyri always writes real, living, down to earth characters, but I felt like in this one, I saw more of their flaws than their good qualities for most of the story. Not Erick--Erick was a dear, but we barely had any time with him until the last few chapters. The children's (mostly mild) bad attitudes seemed to be only infrequently corrected, and the adults seemed more oblivious and less caring at times than my favorite Spyri parents usually are. I don't know--it ended up fine, but through the beginning it was just a lot of prejudice and "not our problem" and the kids trying to find ways around rules--which I guess can be realistic, but it's not really what I want in the people I'm supposed to like.

2.5 stars

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was a sweet story written with Johanna Spyri's usual charm. There is a bit of a mystery of who someone is. This wasn't a really long story, only 10 chapters, but it was enough to love the characters, smile over some things, and wish I could spend time in a cottage in the Alps, wander across the meadows and pick strawberries.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

eponymous sentence:
p69: So Ritz spent all the time out of school either with Erick, or seeking him, which however sometimes cost him a good deal of time, for the very nearest friends, after all, were Erick and Sally.

It has subtle parallelisms with her magnum opus, Heidi.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as well, but Spyri's style intrigues me.

[Sydne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many of Spyri's novels, a nice little feel-good book, despite its also sad contents. A nice little read!

[Amy Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book. It's much shorter than Heidi, but it's similar in that it's a very compelling tale with a strong moral message.