Heidi

September 2, 1996
This truncated retelling of orphan Heidi's simple life in the Swiss Alps and her sojourn in the big city seems almost as indebted to the Shirley Temple film as to Johanna Spyri's 1880 novel. Krupinski's (A New England Scrapbook) heroine mimics Temple, curls, button nose and all, though she lacks the actress's expressive smile and gestures. Similarly blank-faced characters contrast with Krupinski's serene, lushly idealized landscape paintings: the people seem like wax dolls, but the glowing blankets of flowers make the Alps heaven on earth. The text emphasizes the sensual joys of fresh goat's milk, fir trees "with their piney scent," Heidi's sweet-smelling bed in her grandfather's hay loft, etc., but that is its only demonstrable strength. Both Heidi's relationship with her grandfather and the idealized subplot about wheelchair-bound Klara's learning to walk are woodenly described; little space is given to dialogue and even less to Heidi's emotions. The plot, too, is severely condensed: "Many more good things happened after that day." The book succeeds as a portrayal of the joys of mountain life, but otherwise fails to do justice to Spyri's story of a girl's courage and persistence. Ages 5-9.

Heidi--whose life is transformed when she is sent to live with her stern grandfather in the Swiss Alps--also joyfully transforms the lives of others--her grandfather's, of course, as well as that of Peter the goatherd and his granny. Teresa Gallagher performs all these roles and more with an astonishing range; her Heidi is girlish, bubbling, and impetuous, her Peter terse and sometimes sulky. Gallagher moves smoothly between these voices and then back to that of the narrator, never missing a beat. This carefully abridged version is also top-rate and feels expansive. It includes all one's favorite parts and invites younger and older listeners alike to enjoy this classic children's tale. A word of caution: Your children may want to eat nothing but bread, cheese, and goat's milk for days after listening. J.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine