Normally, I would avoid giving away the ending of a book, but you need to know all about this story in order for it to make sense. So you've been warned.
So Miss Hickory is a doll that is made from an apple branch that looks like a body, and a hickory nut that happens to be shaped like a face. Miss Hickory is very set in her ways and a bit rude at times too.
During the nicer times of year, she lives outside in a doll house, and during the winter months she is moved inside, but this year things are different. The family is going away for the winter, and Miss Hickory has been forcefully evicted from her home by a chipmunk. A crow helps her find a robin's nest to live in during the winter, but she balks at the idea even though she agrees to live there in the end.
Her new home is above the hole of a squirrel. Miss Hickory does not treat this squirrel very well, and insults him all the time. That will come back to haunt her.
Miss Hickory has many adventures over her winter. She helps a group of pheasant hens to band together into a women's society to stand up to the male pheasants. She rescues an old frog that has gotten trapped in the ice. She also learns a lot. She changes her wardrobe frequently using the natural world around her for materials.
There are some strange chapters, especially when Miss Hickory goes to a "party" at the barn that is attended by every animal you can find in the world. I can't explain where they come from or how they get there, but I liked it.
So, I mentioned that I would talk about the ending, so here it goes. When spring arrives, the robins that lived in her nest returns and kicks her out. Desperate for a place to go, Miss Hickory visits her neighbor the squirrel, who being hungry after the long winter, eats Miss Hickory's head. This is actually a liberating experience. It frees her of being so hard headed, and even without her head, she is able to feel her way into the tree and sets herself into an open space int the tree and becomes a grafted branch.
Yes, this story is strange, but if you are into unique takes on the world, then this book might be for you.
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