Books with author Johanna Spyri

When an aunt drops five-year-old Heidi off to live with her grandfather in the Alps—the two of them alone in a small hut on a hill—she's initially very lonely. Soon, however, she comes to appreciate her new, simple life; she loves walking through the pastures with her friend Peter the goatherd and spending quiet time with her grandfather. Three years later, Heidi's aunt returns to take her to the town to become a companion for Clara, a sick little girl of a wealthy family. But even though Heidi bonds with Clara and brings new life to the household, she becomes more and more homesick and wants desperately to return to her grandfather.Since its original publication in Switzerland in 1880, Johanna Spyri's classic story has delighted generations of children. The book has been translated into more than fifty languages and has sold over fifty million copies. Simple writing, a lovely, relatable plot, and a recognition of the importance of family and nature make Heidi a great book for families to read aloud. Now with charming full-color photographs of the scenery around which Heidi would have grown up, this is a fantastic gift for children at any time of year.

Outside of the province of the Märchen, which constitutes so rich a field in German literature, there is no writer better known or better loved in the young German-speaking world than Johanna Spyri. Her stories, written "for children and those who love children," are read and reread as something that never grows old. The secret of this charm lies, above all, in the author's genuine love of children, as shown in her sympathetic insight into the joys, the hopes, and the longings of childhood, and in her skillful selection of characteristic details, which creates an atmosphere of reality that is rare in books written for children.Johanna Heusser Spyri was born in the little Swiss town of Hirzel, canton of Zürich, in 1827, and died in Zürich in 1901. She wrote especially for young people, her writings dealing mostly with Swiss mountain life and portraying the thrifty, industrious nature of the people. The stories are sometimes sad,—for the peasant's life is full of hardships,—but through them all a fresh mountain breeze is blowing and a play of sunlight illumines the high Alps.

Excerpt from Heidi, Her Years of Wandering and Learning: A Story for Children and Those Who Love ChildrenFrom the pleasant village of Mayenfeld a path leads through green fields, richly covered with trees, to the foot of the mountain, which from this side overhangs the valley with grave and solemn aspect. Where the path begins to grow steeper, begins also the heath with its short grass; and the perfume of sweet mountain plants seems to advance as if welcoming the traveller. From this spot the footpath rises almost perpendicularly to the summit.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Color your bookshelf withPuffin+Pantone!A collection of classic novels paired with their perfect color match. Introducing a bold, bright new take on your favorite books. A collection that celebrates color and literature at once! Can Heidi find her way back to the purple mounatins of Switzerland to be with her grandfather again? At the age of five, little orphan Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. Everyone in the village is afraid of him, but Heidi is fascinated by his long beard and bushy grey eyebrows. She loves her life in the mountains, playing in the sunshine and growing up amongst the goats and birds. But one terrible day, Heidi is collected by her aunt and is made to live with a new family in town. Heidi can't bear to be away from her grandfather; can she find a way back up the mountain, where she belongs?"

CORNELLI Many writers have suffered injustice in being known as the author of but one book. Robinson Crusoe was not Defoe's only masterpiece, nor did Bunyan confine his best powers to Pilgrim's Progress. Not one person in ten of those who read Lorna Doone is aware that several of Blackmore's other novels are almost equally charming. Such, too, has been the fate of Johanna Spyri, the Swiss authoress, whose reputation is mistakenly supposed to rest on her story of Heidi. To be sure, Heidi is a book that in its field can hardly be overpraised. The winsome, kind-hearted little heroine in her mountain background is a figure to be remembered from childhood to old age. Nevertheless, Madame Spyri has shown here but one side of her narrative ability. If, as I believe, the present story is here first presented to readers of English, it must be through a strange oversight, for in it we find a deeper treatment of character, combined with equal spirit and humor of a different kind. Cornelli, the heroine, suffers temporarily from the unjust suspicion of her elders, a misfortune which, it is to be feared, still occurs frequently in the case of sensitive children. How she was restored to herself and reinstated in her father's affection forms a narrative of unusual interest and truth to life. Whereas in Heidi there is only one other childish figure—if we except the droll peasant boy Peter—we have here a lively and varied array of children. Manly, generous Dino; Mux, the irrepressible; and the two girls form a truly lovable group. The grown-ups, too, are contrasted with much humor and genuine feeling. The story of Cornelli, therefore, deserves to equal Heidi in popularity, and there can be no question that it will delight Madame Spyri's admirers and will do much to increase the love which all children feel for her unique and sympathetic genius. CHARLES WHARTON STORK