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Heidi Annotated
Heidi is a novel about the events in the life of a young girl in her grandfather's care, in the Swiss Alps. Heidi is an orphaned girl initially raised by her aunt Dete in Maienfeld, Switzerland after the early deaths of her parents, Tobias and Adelheid (Dete's sister and brother-in-law). Dete brings 6-year-old Heidi to her paternal grandfather's house, up the mountain from Dörfli. He has been at odds with the villagers and embittered against God for years and lives in seclusion on the alm. This has earned him the nickname Alm-Uncle. He briefly resents Heidi's arrival, but the girl's evident intelligence and cheerful yet unaffected demeanor soon earn his genuine, if reserved, affection. Heidi enthusiastically befriends her new neighbors, young Peter the goatherd, his mother, Bridgget, and his blind maternal grandmother. With each season that passes, the mountaintop inhabitants grow more attached to Heidi. Heidi is one of the best-selling books ever written and is among the best-known works of Swiss literature.
- GenresClassics
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 27, 2021
5 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Johanna Spyri
1,308 books972 followersJohanna 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.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 24, 2025
Reading this brought me back to my childhood for a few hours. I loved this story as a child, and I loved the movie adaptation starring Shirley Temple.
January 31, 2023
This books takes me sooo back to my childhood. While I prefer the series, the book reminded me of so many good moments that I can't avoid to give it a five out of five. I must mention that I was so scared by how passive-aggressive Peter is in the novel, didn't see that coming...
May 24, 2023
Charming and edifying!
September 4, 2025
Just a nostalgic re-read to help me through some trying times. Always a favorite!
February 8, 2023
💙💙💙💙💙
𝖧𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗅𝗒 𝖱𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝖽 😇❤️📚
This was an adventure of the sweetest kind. I would love to live on the mountain with Heidi and her grandfather.
What a delightful story about a little girl who grew up in the mountains with her grandfather, Uncle Alp, Peter and Grannie and her wonderful Friends who became family, Clara, Grandmamma and the Dr.
It was all so vividly written, I could see the mountaintops and fir trees with the Hawk flying over and the Goats Daisy and Dusky, snowflake and Turk and all bounding up the mountain with Peter and Heidi.
A lovely read.
𝖧𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗅𝗒 𝖱𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝖽 😇❤️📚
This was an adventure of the sweetest kind. I would love to live on the mountain with Heidi and her grandfather.
What a delightful story about a little girl who grew up in the mountains with her grandfather, Uncle Alp, Peter and Grannie and her wonderful Friends who became family, Clara, Grandmamma and the Dr.
It was all so vividly written, I could see the mountaintops and fir trees with the Hawk flying over and the Goats Daisy and Dusky, snowflake and Turk and all bounding up the mountain with Peter and Heidi.
A lovely read.
April 7, 2023
L’histoire est celle dont je me souvenais: belle, touchante, qui fait rêver toute les petites filles qui rêvent d’aventure. On envie Heidi malgré sa triste histoire. Anglais assez facile à lire.
December 30, 2023
Ok, this book was so nostalgic to read, I kept thinking about my childhood copy and the anime version I watched a million times and never mind the meme of the kids in the mountains (iykyk). All of that contributed to my first instinct of giving this a 4 stars, but then I realized this week that I forgot to review it! So it couldn't possibly be a 4-star book.
The story is about a little girl who lives in the mountains with her grandfather and one day, without anyone's consent, btw ( first problem) she is taken to live as a companion to a little girl who has been in a wheelchair.
The second problem is precisely that, has to be someone else's companion, work as someone's friend, and of course they are giving her schooling and a home, but no body asked her or her grandfather and to top it all of, it's religious people who do this, which always baffles me.
When the father of the girl learns this, he does take her back, so it does have a happy ending. Everyone is where they belong, and the little girl in the wheelchair walks with the help of Heidi and some fresh air ( also some ablelisim here ).
There are a lot of similarities to the secret garden but more problematic in the way the story is depicted, and although I understand the time it was written in, there's still a lot of thing that are presented as problematic but are never given proper consequences.
Overall, as a classic, I am glad I read it , but I can't say that it's my favorite.
The story is about a little girl who lives in the mountains with her grandfather and one day, without anyone's consent, btw ( first problem) she is taken to live as a companion to a little girl who has been in a wheelchair.
The second problem is precisely that, has to be someone else's companion, work as someone's friend, and of course they are giving her schooling and a home, but no body asked her or her grandfather and to top it all of, it's religious people who do this, which always baffles me.
When the father of the girl learns this, he does take her back, so it does have a happy ending. Everyone is where they belong, and the little girl in the wheelchair walks with the help of Heidi and some fresh air ( also some ablelisim here ).
There are a lot of similarities to the secret garden but more problematic in the way the story is depicted, and although I understand the time it was written in, there's still a lot of thing that are presented as problematic but are never given proper consequences.
Overall, as a classic, I am glad I read it , but I can't say that it's my favorite.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews