Not many children's books involve a scene in which the title character's head is eaten. But then, not many children's books are "Miss Hickory". The 1947 Newbery winner, "Miss Hickory" belongs strictly to that amazingly popular genre of what-mischief-do-our-dolls-get-up-to-when-we're-not-around books. Only in this case, the doll is not one of your fancy china creations or a Victorian lady but rather a New England creature of humble origins. She has the body of an applewood twig and the head of a hickory nut. And that's just the beginning of the peculiarities found in this (sometimes) little read tale. If you want a Newbery winner that appeals to those kids that like dolls, nature, or a little bit of both then you're in for a surprising treat.
Meet Miss Hickory. A small doll living out her days in a corncob house, she has a happy little existence keeping to herself and not bothering anyone. When her gossipy Crow friend informs her that the family with whom she often spends her winters indoors is leaving the countryside without her, Miss Hickory is loathe to believe it. Further confirmation on the part of the cat Mr. T. Willard-Brown finally forces her to face up to the facts, whereupon she swiftly plunges into a deep pit of woe and self-pity. Fortunately for her, Crow finds Miss Hickory a warm nest of a shelter in which she can live out the cold winter months and because of this she is able to interact sociably with the other animals that live in the area. There's the peacable doe who's mother is killed and who hooks up with a wild heifer. There's a naughty squirrel who keeps eyeing Miss Hickory's noggin as a potential food source... but only jokingly, right? There's the downtrodden hen-pheasant (described in the cast of characters as "sad and without pep") who gets pushed around by her husband. And there's a groundhog who's unnatural fear of his own shadow causes a great deal of ruckus. By the end of the tale, Miss Hickory learns a little about her own personal flaws and transforms herself into an entirely different entity so as to better serve the children that return to the farmhouse.
Unlike a previous Newbery winning doll book character (Hitty from "Hitty: Her First One Hundred Years"), Miss Hickory is not your standard oh-me-oh-my heroine. Because her head is so hard she often finds herself being mean, stubborn, or unyielding to things that might cause her a lot of pleasure if she let them. This flaw in her personality is remedied in a somewhat drastic way that I, frankly, really enjoyed. This book is also full of little odd turns of phrase that catch the reader's ear. When the squirrel takes his first look at a newly dandied up Miss Hickory, his immediate reaction is a kind of macho, "Hi, cutie!". And when Miss Hickory views the lead crow of a mob she thinks to herself, "Undoubtedly a gangster.... He ought to be shot, but they'll never catch him". I'm a fan of the unexpppected bit of fun in older children's books and this particular story has unexpected fun hither and thither.
There are some odd choices in the book, though. This story has a blatent Christian Christmas miracle scene that may make not make much sense to those child readers not raised on Christmas Eve tales since birth. And the whole hen-pheasant being dutiful to her awful husband is a bit dated today. One suspects a kid reading such sections would wonder why the brow beaten hen doesn't just leave her husband and stay with the other lady hen-pheasants instead. It's worth wondering. Still, the book overcomes this dated features and continues to be a good tale.
Though this is probably not one of the better remembered Newbery Award winning books (more's the pity for it), "Miss Hickory" is well worth reading. A fun, sly, knowing little piece of work with an unconventional ending, it's sure to win as many fans today as it did in 1947. A lovely little book.
