What Jane Read Next

The classic children’s book Heidi by Johanna Spyri is a delightful story which I re-read recently. I was given this gorgeous Puffin in Bloom edition for Christmas (see picture). I couldn’t remember anything about Heidi as I had last read it more than twenty years ago. So it was great to revisit this story as an adult.

If you’re not familiar with this classic, it’s a simple story about a little girl named Heidi who goes to live with her grandfather, Uncle Alp, in the Swiss Alps. There she lives a peaceful existence, frolicking around the mountainside with Peter the goat-herd and all the goats. Then her Aunt comes and takes Heidi to go and be a companion to a sick girl named Clara in a town far away and Heidi must endure life away from her beloved mountains.

Here are some thoughts I had when re-reading Heidi:

• Gosh, I would like a pet goat.
• They sure do drink a lot of milk and eat a lot of cheese in this book.
• I really want to go to the Swiss Alps, cavort around like Heidi and pick flowers.
• This is such a sweet book.
• I’m not sure I could sleep on a bed of hay like Heidi with all my allergies.
• Peter is such a cranky boy with a lot of anger management issues.
• Mountain air, milk and cheese appear to be the cure for everything.
• How would anyone with lactose intolerance survive in this book?
• I don’t think anyone ate any vegetables in this story.
• I feel like drinking some milk.

It was fun to read this classic again and be drawn into a simpler time.

Verdict: A sweet book about a sweet girl set in a beautiful place.

Have you read any children’s classics recently?