Heidi

Outline

Heidi (1881) tells the story of a cheerful orphan girl sent to live with her gruff grandfather in the Swiss Alps. Heidi’s warmth softens his heart, and she grows to love the mountains, the goats, and her friend Peter. When she is taken to the city to be a companion for Clara, a girl who cannot walk, Heidi’s kindness changes the lives of everyone around her. Johanna Spyri’s classic celebrates nature, friendship, and healing.

• A cheerful orphan girl, Heidi, is sent to live with her gruff grandfather high in the Swiss Alps.
• Heidi's warmth gradually softens her grandfather's heart and turns a lonely home into a caring one.
• Heidi grows to love the mountains, the goats, and her friend Peter, finding happiness in simple outdoor life.
• In the city, Heidi becomes a companion to Clara, a girl who cannot walk, and her kindness changes everyone around her.
• The story celebrates nature, friendship, and healing, showing how kindness and innocence can mend people.

Johanna Spyri (1827–1901) was a Swiss author of novels and stories for children and adults. She grew up in a village near Zurich, and her love of the Swiss countryside shaped her writing. Heidi is her best-known work, and it has become one of the most famous children’s books in the world, translated into many languages and adapted many times for film and television.