#125 in Children’s books
Heidi
- 285
- Pages
- about 5 h
- Reading time
- Series 1974 +11
- On screen
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Our view
“Heidi” is a bright, warm children’s classic about finding joy in simple things, even when circumstances are hard. Its Alpine setting is vivid enough to feel like mountain air, and the girl at its centre meets the world with wonder. Some readers find her almost too good to be true and the pace slow in places. A gentle read for children and for adults who want something wholesome.
Worth knowing Johanna Spyri, who was Swiss, published it in two parts in 1880 and 1881; it is set in the Graubünden mountains above Maienfeld, now marketed as Heidiland, and most modern editions combine both parts. The 1974 Japanese anime series, directed by Isao Takahata with Hayao Miyazaki on scene design and layout, made it famous across Europe and Japan.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Heidi is a work of children's fiction published between 1880 and 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning and Heidi: How She Used What She Learned by Friedrich Andreas Perthes of Gotha. It is a novel about the events in the life of a five-year-old girl in her paternal grandfather's care in the Swiss Alps. It was written as a book "for children and those who love children".
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen 12 times — from 1937 to 2015.
- SeriesHeidi, Girl of the AlpsIMDb
- FilmHeidiIMDb
- FilmHeidiIMDb
- FilmCourage MountainIMDb
- FilmHeidiIMDb
- FilmHeidiIMDb
- SeriesHeidiIMDb
- FilmHeidi and PeterIMDb
- FilmHeidiIMDb
- SeriesHeidiIMDb
- FilmHeidi's SongIMDb
- TV filmHeidiIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.8 across 267 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 64% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Children’s books average of 7.9. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.8 | 53 | 20% |
| Hardcover | 7.8 | 214 | 80% |
Frequently asked
What age is Heidi for?
Heidi sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 285 pages — longer than 69% of the ranked books in Children’s books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Children’s books — with scores between 7.8 and 7.9, closest to this book.
