Critical Review of Miss Hickory

Miss Hickory is a children’s literature book written by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, published in 1946. In the story, Miss Hickory is a doll made out of an apple wood twig with a hickory nut as a head. It starts with her owner leaving her to go to school over the winter in Boston. Now that chipmunks have taken over her usual home, she needed a new one. Luckily Crow had found her a new nest which no one was living in and Miss Hickory soon turned it into her home. She made her own clothes, helped Hen make the Ladies Aid Society, and much more over the winter. But there was one problem, Squirrel lived under that tree all winter and the squirrel eats nuts which terrified Miss Hickory. It was spring now and Miss Hickory was out for a few weeks but when she returned, Robin had taken over her nest and chased her away. She had to go live with squirrel who immediately ate her head. When Ann finally came back she saw that Miss Hickory had grown into the apple tree allowing it to bloom.

In the book Miss Hickory is a non-human creature, she is an apple wood twig and a hickory nut head. But throughout the story she has a human’s desire, to find a home. It started with the kitchen counter when Ann was still there. And then she moved to the nest but was kicked out by Robin. Then she went to Squirell’s hole but her head was eaten. Lastly she went to the apple tree and finally felt at peace. Throughout the story, Miss Hickory is always trying to find a home, a home that would make you feel warm, safe, happy, etc. Out of all the homes the apple tree is the best as she is safe, happy, and all of the good things when she finally lived there. A way to phrase all of this could be the quote, “Home Sweet Home”. It shows how Miss Hickory is always trying to find a place she could belong too, and is doing all the time. She continues throughout the story finding a suitable home for herself and finally succeeds.

Throughout the story and throughout the winter she was always being very kind. Whenever she was outside, she always tried to help in any way she could. First she helped make the ladie’s aid society for Hen after her husband left after the mating season. Then she helped lure groundhog out of his hole to end winter more quickly with the help of the Ladies aid society. She also helped Bullfrog break out of a layer of ice, which also helped him remove his old layer of skin. And now that she helped the apple tree bloom, she was now helping the community by making apples for Ann. Throughout the winter she did many nice things to many different people. She always wanted to make others enjoy themselves and help them feel happy which is very kind of her.

Everything is always changing, all the time, everyday. And although Miss Hickory wasn’t changing all the time throughout the story, her personality did change a little. In the beginning, Miss Hickory started out very stubborn and independent, just like the stick she is. She is stubborn and it's hard to change her opinion like how it's hard to bend a stick. For example, when Crow came and told her that Ann was moving to Boston for the summer, she was being stubborn and refused to believe it. And she also liked being independent, she made her own clothes, she helped create the Ladies Aid Society which was made for ladies to be independent and on their own. But throughout the course of the book, she learns that sometimes it's ok to ask for a little bit of help.

Miss Hickory is the main character and has a body made out of an apple wood twig, and a head made out of a hickory nut, corresponding to her name. The story begins when her owner, Ann, is moving to Boston for the winter, and Chipmunk has taken over her home. Miss Hickory is a stubborn and independent doll that doesn’t like help, but receives a lot of it throughout the story which changes her. After noticing that she was receiving help often after she was kicked from her home, she wasn’t as independent anymore and learned that help was good sometimes. Miss Hickory was kicked out of her home in the story so she was on a mission to find herself a new home. She needed a suitable one, one that gave her a sense of belonging, one that made her feel warm, happy, and safe. But Robin’s home, and Squirrel's home didn’t give her any of that, in the end she found a perfect one in the apple tree. In conclusion, Miss Hickory, although a doll, had human desires for a home, a place she could belong too, and in the end succeeded.