HEIDI

This 1884 translation, somewhat emended (as he explains in a note) by John Githens, is satisfactorily brisk and clear. Ungerer's many drawings (copyright Zurich, 1978) are splendidly agile, ranging from sly caricatures to deft evocations of settings; the generous number of full-color illustrations are mellower and more sympathetic, without straying into the sentimentality this classic often provokes. A handsome setting for an old favorite.