(1980) Heidi (Watermill Classics), Johanna Spyri. (ISBN: 0816725500 / 0-8167-2550-0)

Book Description: Watermill Press, Mahwah, NJ, U.S.A., 1980. First Edition Thus. This special and unabridged Watermill Classic edition has been completely reset in a size and style for easy reading. Number line on copyright page reads: (Not Stated). Illustrated Glossy Cloth White Hard Cover Boards. 343 pages and about the author page, 5.5" x 7.875" tall, 1" thick. No underlining, No highlighting, No owners name, No remainder marks, this is a As New book. As New copy - Looks Never read. Beautiful gift quality copy of a book. (Complete and Unabridged)(Grades 3-6)

Book Condition: As New.

Dust Jacket Condition: None as issued.

Synopsis: This story has become a classic and describes the life of a five-year-old girl brought up in the Alps by her old grandfather.

Review: Johanna 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

About The Author: Johanna Spyri (German pronunciation: [joˈhana ˈʃpiːri]) (12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) was an author of children's stories, and is best known for her book Heidi. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels.

Biography: In 1852, Johanna Heusser married Bernhard Spyri, a lawyer. While living in the city of Zürich she began to write about life in the country. Her first book titled A Leaf on Vrony's Grave, was published in 1871 and the following year further stories for both adults and children appeared, among them the tale of Heidi, which she wrote in four weeks. Heidi, the story of an orphan girl who lives with her grandfather in the Alps, is famous for its vivid portrayal of the landscape, and Heidi has become a personification of the Swiss alps.

Her husband and her only child, a son named Bernard, both died in 1884. Alone, she devoted herself to charitable causes and wrote over fifty more stories before her death in 1901. She was interred in the family plot at the Sihlfeld-A Cemetery in Zürich. An icon in Switzerland, Spyri's portrait was placed on a postage stamp in 1951 and on a 20 CHF commemorative coin in 2001.

In April 2010, a professor, who searching for children's illustrations, found a book written in 1830 by a German history teacher, Adam von Kamp, that Spyri may have used as a basis for Heidi. The 1830 story is titled Adelheide - das Mädchen von Alpengebirge—translated, "Adelheide, the girl from the Alps". The two stories share many similarities in plot line and imagery. Spyri biographer Regine Schindler said it was entirely possible that Spyri may have been familiar with the story as she grew up in a literate household with many books.

Bibliography (highlights):

in alphabetical order

• Cornelli
• Erick and Sally
• Gritli's Children
• Heidi
• Jörli. The Story of a Swiss Boy
• Maezli. A Story of the Swiss Valleys
• Moni the Goat-Boy
• Rico and Wiseli
• Toni, the Little Woodcarver
• Uncle Titus and His Visit to the Country
• Veronica And Other Friends. Two Stories For Children
• What Sami Sings with the Birds