Preachy children’s book come cheap by the dozen, and for the most part, I’ve found them eughhh. Sure, I’m in my thirties and I probably shouldn’t be reading books made for children in their formative years — I’ve become too cynical for this type of stuff.
My reasons for reading these books are admittedly shallow: I want to tick them off in nagging book lists which tell me I should have read them years and years ago. but I read them as they don’t take much of a time investment and for the most part, they are padding in between heavier books that require more of my brain. Heidi is prevalent in these lists, and when I found it lying around in the bargain bin, I took it home.
A lot of people compare these books as they feel quite similar: Anne of the Green Gables, Burnett’s books, Alcott’s books to name a few. In the back of my mind when I’m reading them I keep thinking that, “I’m not a little girl. Fuck.” and “Why are these books so annoying to read?”
Heidi is not a perfect book — the Christian aspect is a little bit excessive. But my goodness, it almost blew me away. I liked Heidi from the first chapter, when her aunt dropped her off to the self-exiled grandfather, a hermit who’s declared war against everybody. I found that there is something sad in this orphan who had little choice and bounced from one place to another.
For me, Heidi is different than all these so called children’s classics. Over the top, sure, but I wanted these characters to be real. I wanted Heidi to have lived in the Swiss mountains living with her estranged grandfather and making everybody around her happy and better. I want to believe that someone like Herr Sesemann is real, who unconditionally loves his invalid daughter and is willing to take Heidi as one of his own. Heidi is full of amazing, heart-warming characters.
And the description of the Swiss mountains, the bleating of goats and the stunning night stars. Where I am, we’re in semi-lockdown and this book helped immensely to take me out of this confined space. The description of goat milk is so fresh that I’ve googled where to find goat milk.
More than anything, Heidi makes me want to be kind again, as I have been once. It reminds me that the happiness of others begets one’s own happiness. In 2020, where hardships are common, and positivity is premium, this book is uplifting. Heidi is a joy to read.
