This book was given to my older sister, and it came with a little locket that matches the one in the story. This book would be really close to someone's heart who enjoys ballet dancing. Identifying with a character from a book has you focus on the description of their personality and the comparison of yourself to the fictional character. I might share this as a personal read so the class would learn something about me then i could assign them to find a book that has a character that closely relates to them in some way.

This was one of my favorite books as a child. The book was a present from neighbor and it came with my very own locket, which I constantly wore as a young girl. I love this book for several reasons. The language is descriptive and clear. The writing flows nicely and is paced well. Some pages contain one sentence, while some pages are organized into a few short paragraphs. The main character is very believable. Many young children can relate to the girl in the story who is constantly making messes and mistakes. Children often make many mistakes in life because they are still young and learning. Sometimes children can also be careless without realizing. The young girl in the book is sad and feels terrible about herself because she never gets anything right. Some children may relate to this feeling of discouragement. The plot contains an inner conflict. The girl is upset with herself because she can never do anything right. She then receives a magical locket from her aunt, and her aunt tells her that by wearing this locket, it will bring her good luck. Once the girl wears this locket, she does everything in her day perfectly, including getting dressed, carrying groceries, and pouring tea. One morning, the locket opens and the girl sees her reflection in a tiny mirror inside. She exclaims, “Why, it’s me! It’s really me. I’m the magic in the locket.” She realizes that she was carrying her own luck this whole time. I also like the illustrations in the book because they enhance the story. On the page that reads, “She tried to feed her dolls, but the cat got fed instead,” there is a drawing of the girl spilling tea on the floor and her cat licking it up. Soft pastel colors, especially pink, and used in the illustrations. This is fitting for a story about a little girl. The book pushes readers to think about how they view themselves. Are they always discouraging themselves after every mistake they make? Do they believe they mess up everything? Or do they realize that as long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible. My favorite quote from the story is, “The locket was filled with her own special magic and from that day on she was never without it,” because it exemplifies the central message in this story. The message is great things will happen to you as long as you have faith in yourself. You create your own magic by believing you can accomplish any goal. ( )