[2] Over the years it has been translated into and published in many languages, including French, Hungarian, Finnish, Danish, Chinese, Czech, German, Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, Korean, Mari, Faroese, Polish, Welsh, Serbian, Bosnian, Romanian and Russian.

The theme was forgiveness – as she wrote in her autobiography: "The world was settling down after the war, but as the atrocities came to light there was so much anger and hatred.

The narrative is centred on three children, and explores love, hatred, death, disability, repentance, self-sacrifice, forgiveness and reconciliation.

[8] Woven through the story runs a frank description of the children's thoughts, motives, struggles, feelings and fears as well as their prayers and their developing Christian faith.

Annette Burnier lives with her father, elderly grandmother and young brother Dani in a small village in the Swiss mountains.

When she is eight years old her mother dies just after Dani's birth, and since the family is too poor to afford a nanny, Annette takes the responsibility upon herself, arranging with the schoolmaster to study at home under her grandmother's guidance.

Further up the mountain in the next chalet, Annette's classmate Lucien Morel lives with his elder sister Marie and their widowed mother.

While on his way home he vents his frustration by kicking over a snowman Dani has built, causing Annette to run out and slap his face and shout angrily at him.

Lucien is terrified and griefstricken, convinced that Dani is dead, and flees home to hide in the barn, unable to face his family.

Here he meets and makes friends with an old man who lives alone in a tiny chalet high above the village, whose only income comes from selling his own woodcarvings.

He had lived alone on the mountain for many years and saved a lot of money from the beautiful woodcarvings he sold, similar to the amount he had stolen.

When he returns, Annette confesses to him about breaking his carved horse, but instead of being angry Lucien forgives her and feels relieved that he is not the only person to have done hurtful things out of spite.

Lucien asks excitedly whether he can make Dani better, but is told the doctor is leaving the hotel for home early the next morning, and anyway his fees would be far too expensive.

Undeterred, Lucien creeps out of the house that night in a blizzard and goes to talk with his friend the old man, telling him about Monsieur Givet and that he might be able to cure Dani.

[11] A Japanese anime series, based on the book and entitled Story of the Alps: My Annette (アルプス物語　わたしのアンネット), was produced in 1983 by Kōzō Kusuba at Nippon Animation and has been broadcast in 48 weekly episodes in Japan, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Arab World, Poland, Iran and the Philippines.