7 h 32 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a grand house offers everything a child needs—except the place where she belongs?
High in the Swiss Alps, Heidi finds a home with her gruff grandfather, the Alm-Uncle. There is a bed of hay, open sky, and a herd of goats to follow with her friend Peter. Johanna Spyri brings you close to a cheerful orphan whose love reaches people used to living with loneliness.
Then her aunt Dete takes Heidi to Frankfurt, where she becomes a companion to Clara Sesemann, a lonely girl who cannot walk. Here, servants, lessons, and Fräulein Rottenmeier's strict rules replace the freedom of the mountains. Clara wants a friend, but Heidi longs for home. Can comfort and kindness make up for the world she misses?
What you’ll discover
- Life above the village Follow Heidi and Peter into high pastures, where goats and open skies fill their days.
- A grandfather learning tenderness Watch the solitary Alm-Uncle slowly learn to care for another person again.
- Friendship across different worlds Meet Clara, whose longing for company brings Heidi into a life unlike her own.
- Small acts of kindness Spend time with Peter's blind grandmother, who finds comfort in Heidi's loving presence.
- The meaning of home Explore what children need beyond comfort, through Heidi's joy in nature and ache for belonging.
Is it for you?
This is for anyone who loves gentle stories about childhood, mountains, animals and kindness, and for parents who want to know what Heidi really contains. If you want fast plots, sharp irony or a modern tone, it may feel slow and very sweet.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A small orphan climbs the mountain
- The grandfather lets her stay
- Days with Peter and the goats
- Winter, the village, and a blind grandmother
- Dete returns and takes Heidi away
- A strange house in Frankfurt
- Learning to read, and a grandmother's faith
- What the story says about home and healing
- How Spyri tells the story
Who’s who
- HeidiAn orphan of about five at the start, honest, cheerful and loving, who wants most of all to live among the mountains she knows.
- The Alm-UncleHeidi's gruff grandfather, who lives alone in a hut above the village and slowly learns to care for another person again.
- PeterThe young goatherd who becomes Heidi's friend, slow in school but loyal, and who lives with his mother and blind grandmother.
- Clara SesemannA kind, lonely girl in Frankfurt who cannot walk, and who wants a friend to brighten her long days.
- Fräulein RottenmeierThe strict housekeeper of the Sesemann house, who wants order and good manners and is shocked by Heidi's wild ways.
- DeteHeidi's aunt, who sees herself as practical and helpful, and who wants a better life for the child as she understands it.
- Peter's grandmotherA blind, elderly woman who longs for sunlight, soft bread and the comfort of hymns, and who comes to love Heidi.
- Frau SesemannClara's grandmother, a wise and gentle lady who teaches Heidi to read and speaks to her about prayer.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 7 h 32 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Heidi
by Johanna Spyri· 1880
An orphan girl leaves her mountain home for city life.
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Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A small orphan climbs the mountain
The story opens in a Swiss village called Dörfli, in the valley near Maienfeld. A young woman named Dete is climbing the path toward the high pastures. She leads her little niece Heidi, who is an orphan and about five years old. The day is hot, and Dete has dressed the child in so many layers that she can hardly walk.
We learn at once that Dete is not a cruel person, but she is practical. She has found a good job in Frankfurt and can no longer look after Heidi. So she is taking the girl up to the child's only other relative, her grandfather. The villagers call him the Alm-Uncle. Dete admits on the way that nobody in the village likes him much.
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The author
Johanna Spyri
1827–1901 · Swiss children's writer
Johanna Spyri was a Swiss writer born in Hirzel, Switzerland, in 1827. She moved to Zurich in 1852 and lived there until her death in 1901. She wrote books for children and adults. Her first published story appeared in 1871. Heidi was published in two parts in 1880 and 1881.
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What is Heidi about?
Heidi is about a young orphan who goes to live with her gruff grandfather in the Swiss Alps. She is later taken to a rich house in Frankfurt as a companion to an invalid girl, and she longs for her mountain home.
Who is the Alm-Uncle in Heidi?
The Alm-Uncle is Heidi's grandfather. Villagers call him this because he lives alone on the Alm, the high pasture. He is gruff and withdrawn at first, but Heidi's trust slowly draws him back toward other people.
When was Heidi written and is it a true story?
Heidi is a work of fiction by Johanna Spyri, published in two parts in 1880 and 1881. The setting is the real Swiss region around Maienfeld, but the characters and events are made up.
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