Images in Miss Hickory are more important than plot development, although the plot does take a surprising twist. Bailey's phrases such as "fellowfeeling," "two-legger," "cupboard love" and "up-boughs" and "down-boughs" are poetic. Her descriptions are vivid, as when Ann and Timothy follow Crow into the blooming apple orchard: Pink and white, all around and above Ann and Timothy, the orchard, as far as they could see, was blooming. It hung a pink curtain against the new green of Temple Mountain. All the worn crotches and ragged elbows of the gnarled trees were covered with blossoms, but Timothy was right. The Mclntosh trees had the thickest, the loveliest bloom of all.

On the other hand, the tone of Miss Hickory is problematic. How are we to view her? Can we identify with a character who is happier when she loses her individuality and becomes part of a...