Heidi

Heidi, Johanna Spyri's classic tale from 1880, follows a spirited young orphan sent to live with her gruff grandfather high in the Swiss Alps, read slowly and softly for sleep.

At first, the old man wants nothing to do with visitors, and the villagers warn Heidi he's a hard, lonely man. But Heidi's warmth wins him over, and soon she's spending her days out on the mountainside with the goatherd Peter, sleeping in a hay loft under the stars and drinking warm goat's milk by the fire. It's a simple, happy life, full of alpine meadows, wildflowers, and fresh mountain air.

Then Heidi is sent away to Frankfurt to become a companion to Clara, a girl her age who cannot walk. City life is stiff and strange after the freedom of the mountains, and Heidi grows homesick for her grandfather and the peaks she loves. But her friendship with Clara turns out to be a gift to them both — and when Clara later comes to visit the Alps herself, the mountain air and Heidi's steady kindness work a quiet kind of healing.

This is a gentle coming-of-age story about family, friendship, and the pull of home, set against the pastures and peaks of nineteenth-century Switzerland. It's perfect for listeners who love old-fashioned children's classics like Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie, or anyone who finds comfort in stories of simple country life.

Nothing here will keep you up — only goat bells, hay lofts, and mountain air, moving at the steady rhythm of a story built for bedtime. Let the Alps and their quiet friendships walk you down toward sleep.