I read this because it came in a box set with some other classics I bought. I’d never heard of it before. I enjoyed parts of it, mainly the descriptions of nature and Heidi’s relationship with Uncle Alp was really sweet. It reminded me of the secret garden in a lot of ways. Not necessarily in good ways…

Because I wasn’t familiar with this book before reading it, I had no idea how strong the religious messaging would be. I’m not religious, so I found that aspect really irritating, though I’m not surprised it was there. From my interpretation this book’s main message outside of Heidi bringing everyone together, is to have faith in god and to believe in him and then your life will improve. Except everything they attributed to god’s doing was just stuff that characters in the story did… interesting. This got very repetitive too. A lot of the book was repetitive in general.

Then there’s the disability rep -_-

Not that I would expect it to be good, but it’s another ‘just get outside and push through the pain and you’ll be cured!’ situation, much like in the secret garden. It’s never named what exactly it is that Clara has, it’s possible that it could be rickets or something that can actually be cured by going outside, but either way, especially because it’s never explicitly stated, it’s really annoying. The language used when talking about her illness is pretty ableist (as if being in a wheelchair is the worst possible fate), and she’s referred to as an ‘invalid’ multiple times.

Peter seems to possibly be dyslexic or have some sort of learning disability if the teacher has been trying to teach him to read for years and he still hadn’t learned the alphabet, but then as soon as Heidi tries teaching him he just learns? Obviously when this book was written they wouldn’t have known much about learning disabilities, it seems like it’s supposed to be as if he’s just being stubborn and not trying? But I would think if you’ve been going over it for years with a teacher you’d pick up on it even if you weren’t paying much attention. Also the rhymes to help him learn?? Not only really ableist if he has a learning disability but also threatening child abuse…

Speaking of child abuse, there are quite a few times where the kids are threatened with physical abuse throughout the book, though they never do get beaten.

I’ve noticed in a lot of children’s classics the children are written to be so dumb. Like why would Heidi, an eight year old, believe the grandma in the book she’s reading is Peter’s Grannie? I’m pretty sure an eight year old understands the concept of a fictional story, even if books are new to them.

Overall, unless you already have a sentimental attachment to it, I wouldn’t say it holds up to today.

When reviewing this, I found out this story is translated into English from German which makes a lot of sense because the writing would sometimes be stiff and strangely worded. I was reading a different edition of the book though. This edition is the only one I am able to review on here so I can't really know if this translation is any better. However, I still enjoyed it. I really am kind of a sucker for these kinds of stories; a lovely, lively little girl changing people's lives with healing power of nature so integral to the plot that it almost becomes another character. It's a tad preachy though, especially right towards the end, with the main character Heidi finding faith in God. Though I'm not religious, I personally find it quite interesting to know what messages the author wanted to bring into the mind of the reader. I find reading older books fascinating in this way also because of the historical references embedded into the story; like what Swiss Alps folk might have eaten, what might've been important to them, and the differences between them and townsfolk.

Heidi is another of those girlish children’s classics that I still love, perhaps a little more than Pollyanna but less than What Katy Did. Even though I can see that they're a little preachy — and Heidi, in particular, is specifically God-related in its moralising — I still enjoy the simple stories of a special child who comes to make such a difference in everybody's life.

Grandfather carries the bulk of the character development, everybody else stays more or less the same in terms of personality, though both Clara and Heidi learn new skills. The characters don't necessarily feel that deep, but I do enjoy the little glimpses that we get of them. Only Dete and Miss Rottenmeier come off badly, and as an adult, I have at least some sympathy for both of them.

It's the little things that stand out to me: Grandfather making Heidi her own stool once he realises that the ones he has are too big for her, the Doctor enjoying his outdoor meal of cheese and bread and meat more than anything else he's eaten, Heidi and Clara sharing their hay bed when she comes to visit and, of course, the soft white rolls for Peter's grandmother.

Reading this now, the way Clara's family come in and fix everything by giving everybody money is a little problematic. They mean well, but it feels a little too perfect too quickly. It doesn't take away from the story as a whole, but it did make me wince.

Overall, the descriptions and the emotional impact definitely make this a book worth revisiting every few years!