Wonderful Wednesdays #1 (Childhood Books)

This new meme is called Wonderful Wednesdays, which is hosted by Sam at Tiny Library and it's all about spotlighting and recommending some of our most loved books, even if we haven't read them recently. Each week will have a different theme or genre of book to focus on. This is the first week of it running and if you want to participate or find out more, visit HERE!

This week's theme is: a book you loved as a child.

 One of my all time favourites, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgeson Burnett was featured by Sam, so I've picked Heidi by Johanna Spyri.

I can't remember the first time I read Heidi or whether I saw a film version first but the story is beautiful and really deserves its place as a well loved children's classic. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, it centres around a young girl called Heidi's who comes to live with her Grandfather up in the Swiss mountains after she is left an orphan. When she is taken to Frankfurt to be a companion to frail and wheelchair bound Clara, she longs for the green fields and sunshine of the Alps.
It has a very hopeful and uplifting feel to it with the quaint descriptive writing and Heidi's simple but happy and kind nature that has a positive impact on many lives in the book. Grandfather is also a wonderful character. At the start he is a grumpy and lonely hermit who avoids contact with the nearby village as much as possible but he proves that he is a remarkably strong but tender and loving person. Heidi reminds me of the joys of simple living and the story is just so delightfully heart warming. There are also two other books that continue the story of Heidi although they are written by Charles Tritten instead of Johanna Spyri.

What childhood books do you love?