Name: Spreading the Feast Gathering
Start: 2025-07-11T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-07-12T23:59:59-05:00
Location: LaGrange, KY

This topic has 22 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 9 months ago by RobinP.

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August 17, 2013 at 12:26 am
Karen
Participant
About the versions: I wonder if that’s what was wrong with our reading of Heidi. I remember reading one version (unabridged) as a child and enjoying it. I read a different version aloud a year or two ago, and I could hardly stand it!! I edited out so many sentences it wasn’t funny. (We own three different translations of Heidi!!! – I have a daughter named Heidi, so when I see the book at sales, I usually pick it up *L*)
Talking about books that are hard to read aloud, Anne of Green GAbles – I loved and read and re-read (and watched and re-watched the movie) as a child. I tried to read it aloud to my girls, and I can hardly stand it! So we switched to the LibriVox version and I think we’re all happy (except for Diana’s voice and Miss Barry’s voices. And I still have the movie version of Rachel Lynde’s voice in my head….oh, and Michael – I think we’ve heard two different Michaels so far.)
Anyway…..back to the topic at hand!
August 17, 2013 at 12:50 am
Angelina
Participant
Karen, no, thanks – that post was helpful (they all have been!) This subject of which version of Heidi is clearly a biggie. Since Understood Betsy was clearly the winner here on my little poll, I think I’m going to read my Puffin version of Heidi for my next personal night-time read, and really try to picture myself reading it aloud.
As for your comments, Karen, on Anne of Green Gables — very helpful too. I LOVED this as a child (I think I actually wore out the VCR tape watching it over and over). Interestingly I didn’t love reading it as much as I loved watching it, and combined with your comments on this one being a tad tricky to read aloud, perhaps I will earmark it as a Librivox read/follow along with the hard copy. We often do that when I think the book as mama-read-aloud will drain me too much.
Loving this thread and all the snippets of info! Thanks ladies 🙂
August 17, 2013 at 2:03 am
bethanna
Participant
I found Anne difficult to read aloud b/c the sentences are so long. Our edition of Heidi has many lovely illustrations. Betsy is on this year’s list.
August 17, 2013 at 3:04 am
art
Participant
Well, I never realized there were different versions of Heidi. I have 2. I really haven’t compared. I read the Dover Evergreen Classic version myself. I think my girls read the Puffin one. So tonight I looked at them and compared. What a difference! I wondered why they didn’t love it like I did. The Puffin is MUCH less literary. It’s not written in beautiful language. It seemed like they made it easier, but they left out the feeling of it. It’s nothing special.
The Dover is so much better. The vocabulary is much more rich. I’m going to give the Puffin to Good Will or something. I’m going to have to have my girls read the good one. Or maybe I’ll have to read it aloud to us all.

August 17, 2013 at 3:19 am
Angelina
Participant
Oh my, this is hard to hear -I have the Puffin of Heidi! I also have a real oldy by Children’s Classics; I will need to compare.
I hope RobinP pops back onto this thread, I think I recall she runs a lending library (?) and maybe she even has several versions that she’s an expert on.
Well I guess I have some Heidi homework to do…. at least I did end up deciding to start with Betsy (!) and have bought some time, LOL
August 17, 2013 at 3:40 pm
Sue
Participant
Actually, I was wondering about the versions of Understood Betsy and which one(s) to choose. Anyone know anything about which is recommended?
August 17, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Carla
Participant
I’m clearly in the minority because Heidi would be my top pick. I have an older version that was my mother’s and it was lovely to read; I’ll have to check who translated it.

Anne is one that I prefer to save to give for a 10-13 year old’s silent reading. We do love the Focus on the Family audio drama, though.
August 17, 2013 at 9:24 pm
RobinP
Participant
In regards to translations for Heidi – Charles Tritten was Spyri’s official translator. I don’t have his translation of Heidi but I do have the two sequels he wrote himself. Using the hymns as a guide is good. I have one translation by Helen Dole which is well done. It has all the verses of the hymns in the chapter entitled, On Sunday When the Church Bells Ring. I have a translation by Louise Brooks with the same. I have a third translation by M. Rosenbaum that calls itself “unabridged”. This chapter in this version is called The Bells Ring Out. It is very short and has no hymn at all.
Here is the link to Tritten’s translation on Amazon. You can take a look inside and see how it reads. It is actually very similar to the first of my copies above.
http://www.amazon.com/Heidi-Johanna-Spyri/dp/1466244976/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1376741552&sr=8-10&keywords=Heidi+tritten
HTH.