The Ickabog

When the story begins, Daisy is the five-year-old daughter of the castle carpenter and the king’s seamstress. She is described as skinny, with a dark complexion, and an assertive temperament. Daisy prefers to wear carpenter’s coveralls rather than pretty dresses, demonstrating her independent spirit. Bert is her best friend until they have an argument over the Ickabog and don’t speak for years.

Because Daisy’s mother worked herself to exhaustion and died while stitching one of the king’s many fancy garments, Daisy and her father take a dim view of the monarch and the government. Since Daisy can see through Spittleworth’s plotting, she is abducted and sent to Ma Grunter’s orphanage, where she lives until she is 15. Despite the hardship of her life, Daisy has a caring spirit and looks after the younger children, often shielding them from abuse. After she and her friends encounter the Ickabog, Daisy communicates with the creature and convinces it to turn away from hatred and embrace hope. In her quiet way, Daisy saves Cornucopia and frees future Ickabogs from persecution.

Bert is the same age as Daisy but isn’t at all like his friend physically or emotionally. He is blond and round and sensitive as a child.