Heidi

About the story

Five-year-old Heidi goes to live with her grandfather, a lonely old man high in the Swiss Alps. She loves the mountains, the goats, and her friend Peter the goatherd. When she is sent to the city of Frankfurt to keep a girl named Clara company, Heidi longs for home.

Before reading

• What is your favorite place outdoors? How does it make you feel?
• What does "homesick" mean?

Discussion questions

1. Why is Grandfather so grumpy at first? How does Heidi change him?
2. What does Heidi love most about the mountains?
3. How is life in Frankfurt different from life in the Alps?
4. How does Heidi help Clara?
5. How do the pictures show Heidi's happiness — and her sadness in the city?
6. What does this story say about friendship and home?

Words to know

• Alps — high mountains in Switzerland and nearby countries.
• Goatherd — someone who looks after goats.
• Meadow — a grassy field, often with flowers.
• Homesick — missing home very much.
• Chalet — a wooden mountain house.

Activities

• Draw the mountain. Draw Heidi's favorite view and label three things she loves there.
• Letter home. Write Heidi's letter from Frankfurt to her grandfather.