Toni: The Little Woodcarver

Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) was an author of children's stories. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels. Her first book titled A Leaf on Vrony's Grave, was published in 1871 and the following year further stories for both adults and children appeared, among them the tale of Heidi (1880) that became an instant and enduring success. Her husband and her only child, a son named Bernhard, both died in 1884. Alone, she devoted herself to charitable causes and wrote over fifty more stories before her death in 1901. Amongst her other works Uncle Titus and His Visit to the Country (1881), Toni, the Little Woodcarver (1882), Gritli's Children (1883) and Moni the Goat-Boy (1886).