Heidi (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics) Paperback – October 3, 2000

We purchased this book in order my daughter to read and write a book report about the virtues and Christian-values through her Catholic Home School program. We chose this copy of the book because it was original and unabridged. Both my daughter and I read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is so superbly well-written, with bits of anticipation and humor along the way. Heidi is about an orphaned girl in Switzerland, whose aunt took care of her until she obtained a better job, and decided it was Heidi's grandfather's turn to keep her. Heidi's grandfather lived up the mountain in a bit of remote area, with the town of Dorfli a trek away. Heidi meets Peter and his mother and grandmother and spends time with Peter, taking the goats to pasture. Heidi's aunt decided to later take her from the grandfather, who came to love her, to be come a companion to an "invalid" girl, Clara, in Frankfurt. Although Heidi is younger than Clara, Clara delights in the funny and inspiring things that Heidi says and does, and they become good friends. Heidi suffered terribly as she missed Grandfather and her life in the mountains, but came to know those in Clara's life, including her grandmother, who taught her to have hope and keep praying to God, and the kind, good-hearted doctor who took care of Clara. Heidi's simplicity, and the way she looked at life, made her long the matched simplicity of the mountains and life with Grandfather. No spoilers here, but good things happen in the story! The characters are very well-defined, and Heidi touches the hearts of all who meet her. If you have seen any versions of Heidi in movie form, you are missing a lot from the book. As much as I like Shirley Temple, the producers of the version she starred in did a disservice to original Heidi book -- it is like looking at a whole different movie. (Disney later came out with a much closer account of the Heidi book as a movie in later years.) Everyone who reads Heidi will enjoy it and walk away with something that touches them -- something to recall and remember as their favorite part of the book.

I love Heidi - the book and most film or TV adaptations of it. The story is so wholesome and nothing quite makes me want to visit Switzerland one day than this book. Such sweet reminders that simple living can be the best and the importance of education, whether from formal training in a classroom or from experienced elders on a mountainside. Sprinkled throughout with words of wisdom about the goodness of God and how much He cares for His creation. Even if one is not religious, you can still appreciate the morals doing within this impeccably crafted story.

Reconciliation…what a beautiful concept. This thread runs throughout the story of Heidi. Hope …who can fully exist without it? Each of the characters finds, extends, or withdraws it to his or her own detriment. This is another thread running throughout the story. Joy…when desires are granted and wrongs made right is the third thread running throughout the book.I was totally taken with the story and observed how the threads were woven together to make a grand tapestry of this God-honoring story. I think this book is best suited for mid to upper elementary.

We love this book! I read it to my kids as they fall asleep.Here are the professional reviews:Amazon.com ReviewJohanna Spyri's classic story of a young orphan sent to live with her grumpy grandfather in the Swiss Alps is retold in it's entirety in this beautifully bound hardcover edition. Heidi has charmed and intrigued readers since it's original publication in 1880. Much more than a children's story, the narrative is also a lesson on the precarious nature of freedom, a luxury too often taken for granted. Heidi almost loses her liberty as she is ripped away from the tranquility of the mountains to tend to a sick cousin in the city. Happily, all's well that ends well, and the reader is left with only warm, fuzzy thoughts. Spryi's story will never grow wearisome--and this is a very appealing edition. --Naomi Gesinger --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From Publishers WeeklyThis truncated retelling of orphan Heidi's simple life in the Swiss Alps and her sojourn in the big city seems almost as indebted to the Shirley Temple film as to Johanna Spyri's 1880 novel. Krupinski's (A New England Scrapbook) heroine mimics Temple, curls, button nose and all, though she lacks the actress's expressive smile and gestures. Similarly blank-faced characters contrast with Krupinski's serene, lushly idealized landscape paintings: the people seem like wax dolls, but the glowing blankets of flowers make the Alps heaven on earth. The text emphasizes the sensual joys of fresh goat's milk, fir trees "with their piney scent," Heidi's sweet-smelling bed in her grandfather's hay loft, etc., but that is its only demonstrable strength. Both Heidi's relationship with her grandfather and the idealized subplot about wheelchair-bound Klara's learning to walk are woodenly described; little space is given to dialogue and even less to Heidi's emotions. The plot, too, is severely condensed: "Many more good things happened after that day." The book succeeds as a portrayal of the joys of mountain life, but otherwise fails to do justice to Spyri's story of a girl's courage and persistence. Ages 5-9.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.I agree with both of those reviews.