Freedom to roam in the high Swiss Alps brings great happiness in this story of Heidi and her unusual childhood high up in the Swiss Alps. When Heidi’s parents die, she is sent to live with her grandfather high up in the mountains. Everyone in the village is frightened of grandfather but Heidi soon gets used to his gruff ways and loves his simple way of life tending the goats. Summer and winter, Heidi helps her grandfather and plays outdoors, sometimes with Peter who herds his goats nearby. When interfering adults try to make changes, including taking Heidi away from her beloved home in the mountains, Heidi soon shows the restoring and healing powers of her special childhood.
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Ladybird Readers is an ELT graded reader series for children aged 3--11 learning English as a foreign or second language. The series includes traditional tales, favourite characters, modern stories and non-fiction. Written byexperts, it uses proven methods to help children learn English and grasp key grammar and vocabulary points.
Perfect for learning English in school or at home
Develops reading, writing, speaking, listening and critical thinking skills
Features much-loved characters and authors such as Peter Rabbit, Peppa Pig,Roald Dahl and Eric Carle
Eight levels follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR)
Language activities in every book provide preparation for the Cambridge EnglishPre-A1 to A2 (YLE) tests
Features free online resources including audio, answer keys, lesson plans and tips for parents
Heidi, a Level 4 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework and supports YLE Flyers exams. The longer text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, more complex past and future tense structures, modal verbs and a wider variety of conjunctions.
Heidi went to stay with her grandfather in the mountains. She liked it there. When she went to school in Frankfurt, she wasn't happy.
Visit the Ladybird Education website for more information.
Johanna Louise Heusser, the fourth of six children of Meta Schweizer (1797-1876) and Johan Jakob Heusser (1783-1859), physician, was born on 12 June 1827 in the village of Herzil, nestled in the Alps of Switzerland. She went to school and was tutored at home, then studied languages and piano in Zürich. In 1852 she married lawyer Bernhard Spyri (1821-1884) with whom she'd have a son, Bernard Diethelm (1855-1884). The couple moved to Zürich to a home overlooking the lake where she wrote her first novel, A Leaf on Vrony's Grave, which was published in 1871.