In 1852, when Johanna was 25, she married a former schoolmate, Bernhard Spyri, who became an attorney. The Huessers opened their home to the intellectual and literary figures of that time and place. Her father was a well-known and greatly beloved physician in Zurich. Her mother, Meta Huesser, was a popular songwriter and poet. Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? If you are unfamiliar with the original telling, this might be the place to start – and then compare by reading the original.Johanna Spyri (J– July 7, 1901) born Johanna Louise Heusser, was a Swiss author best known for her first and most successful book, the 1881 children’s novel Heidi.īorn in rural Hirzel, not far from Zurich, she grew up in a happy, cultured home in a literary environment. Where would you shelve it? Picture books or oversize fiction

Who should buy this book? Public and elementary school libraries To whom would you recommend this book? This could make a nice bedtime story or sharing with a class of kindergarten through second graders. The illustrations capture perfectly the time when this story took place with great attention to detail one can so easily imagine themselves in it.Īnything you did not like about the book? Though I thought the illustrations were wonderfully done, the drawing of the mouth on the characters with a little line as a child would do, instead of keeping with the quality of the rest of the drawing, seemed very out of place and odd, almost as if someone else drew the mouths in – Though this is not a bad existence, Heidi longs for the beauty and quiet of the mountains. All is going well until Heidi is taken to live in town as a companion to a girl who has recently lost her mother and is not coping well. Orphan Heidi is taken to live with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps where she instantly feels at home and happy spending her days with the sheepherder Peter and his sheep.

There are illustrations, done in mixed media, on every page with frequent two-page spreads. Though much is left out, it does not feel like it.

What did you like about the book? This is an abbreviated retelling of Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4.5 Heidi – Johanna Spyri, retold by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Briony May Smith, Nosy Crow, (9781536214222), 2020

Heidi by johanna