The Magic Locket

Magic Charms

by Elizabeth Koda-Callan

Now with over 1.3 million copies in print, here is the unforgettable story of a little girl who can't seem to do anything right. Until the day she receives an heirloom - a golden locket that teaches her the magical power of believing in herself.

Every little girl will be delighted and inspired by The Magic Locket, part of the Magic Charm series of children's books. A charmingly illustrated storybook in the tradition of classic children's literature, it's also a unique gift: nestled inside the cover is a heart-shaped golden locket with the same special powers as the locket in the story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy

37 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1978

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

In first grade, my teacher Mrs. Lumb, read this book to our class. I remember we all gathered around the carpet while she read the book aloud to us. Earlier that day and throughout that school year, I was having a difficult time with my assignments. Our assignment on that particular day was to create our own books by writing a short story and drawing some pictures. I remember I was so frustrated with that assignment because I had NO idea what to write. Everyone around me was busy writing their own stories and i hadn't even begun mine. That year, I felt that I just couldn't do anything and I wasn't as smart as the other kids. After an hour of sitting and staring at a blank page, I decided to tell Mrs. Lumb about the trouble I was having with the assignment. As I was telling her, I started crying and was VERY upset. She took me out into the hall and got me some water and told me that I could do it.... I just needed to believe in myself. Then she gave me this gold locket and told me that if I wore it, I would be able to do amazing things. Shortly after, my classmates and I gathered around the carpet and my teacher read the story. She gave all of the kids a fake locket made out of paper, but I had the real one, the one from the story. Everyone was staring at me and wished that they had the real one. I felt really special on that day and after that, I was able to accomplish amazing things. I will always remember this book and my teacher Mrs. Lumb. This experience changed my life and it will stay with me always.

[Melki · Rating 1 out of 5]

As I seem to recall from my days working at B. Dalton, the main purpose of this title was not to be a book, but to serve as a backdrop for the cheap piece of jewelry that was attached to the cover.



The necklace had been stolen from this copy, and it was removed from our inventory - and that's how it wound up in my possession. Why I kept it all these years, I have no clue. The theme of an object instilling a child with confidence has been done many times before, and much better than this fairly insipid tale.

I'll probably pop it in the Little Free Library, though I kind of hate to inflict it on anyone else.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Savoring this sweet story of girl power with my youngest niece was the pinnacle of my Thanksgiving celebration! This is a treasure--and a trinket--that makes a beautiful legacy to beget past childhood memories and to bequeath to future generations!

[Mimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot like the last book I reviewed, A Charmed Life. In this one though the little girl is struggling. She is just at an awkward age really, but she doesn't think she'll ever get out of it.

In the end the message is very good because she realizes that it isn't the locket that is magical, making her suddenly better at everything; it's herself. The original book came with a little locket as well, but we got this at a library book sale so it was already gone. I remember having the ballet slipper one when I was little and I treasured that necklace.

[Racheal kincade · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved how it showed how good you are on the inside so youshould never hate yourself

[Rebecca Osburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. My aunt gave it to me when I was little and I have loved it ever since. It has such a great message about inner beauty!

[Asa Layne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's a good children's book and I would definitely recommend this book for your little ones.

[Melanie Pearce · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was given this book as a child for Christmas by a relative.
A girl who can’t do anything right, her aunt comes in all graceful and shows her she can do anything as long as she has that magic locket.

I’m now nearly thirty and it’s been a key component in my issues surrounding inadequacy throughout childhood which in turn led to issues as an adult.

I think we need to consider the words we are letting children hear/read and what the implications of this could be.
The issues this book touches on could have been handled a different way- thankfully twenty five years on we are making progress in this respect.

I can still recall the day I lost the locket while on a play date- although I can’t say the actual locket helped.

I’m sure it was a good gimmick to sell a necklace. The pictures were the best aspect, the art was stunning.

[Emily McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the book in Elementary School that I liked to bring to show and tell when we could share books because I loved the story so much and I wanted so badly at the age for it to be real. I love how the story seems to be about magic within a locket, but that is just not what it is about. The little girl believes that this locket is magical and can fix all her problems, but she finds out that the magic is actually within herself. It is truly an uplifting and beautiful story that I remember loving when I was a young girl. I especially loved that the book came with a real locket, because I remember wearing it around all the time. This would be a great story to share to a whole class to remind your students that they are capable of anything and all of their magic comes from within

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

back cover

Now with over 1.3 million copies in print, here is the unforgettable story of a little girl who can't seem to do anything right. Until the day she receives an heirloom - a golden locket that teaches her the magical power of believing in herself.

Every little girl will be delighted and inspired by The Magic Locket, part of the Magic Charm series of children's books. A charmingly illustrated storybook in the tradition of classic children's literature, it's also a unique gift: nestled inside the cover is a heart-shaped golden locket with the same special powers as the locket in the story

[Candice Colosi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books as a little girl.

[Hollister · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book the story Is telling us to believe in our self so I respect that

[Sarah Anderson]

A cute story for children about having faith in one's own worth.

[Michelle Gatewood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books that I remember my mom reading to me as a young girl. This would be a good second grade circle time book. The main character is a girl which makes it a little less interesting for boys to listen to. However, it sends a very positive message to always remember to believe in yourself.

It begins similar to Amelia Bedelia books how everything is not going as planned and everything seems to be going wrong. She starts to loose confidence in herself. But then, her very well put together aunt comes to visit her and tells her she sees a lot of herself as a child like her. The little girl realizes how careful and well rounded her aunt is thinks she could be like her one day. Her aunt passes down a locket she had as a child and gives it to her to take care of. The locket contained a mirror and realized that after all her confidence was coming from within herself.

An activity to follow might be to discuss what things bring luck or make the kids more comfortable to have by their side. They could have a show and tell and explain why it makes them happy or comfortable. This book came with a "magic locket" which I thought was a cool tangible thing to incorporate in the book.

[Mariamawit Habtamu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magic Locket is a cute story. It is about a young girl who believed she could not do anything right until her aunt gave her a locket. There were many things she was unable to do until she wore the locket, but in the end she realized that it wasn’t because of the locket that she was able to do things rather it was because she believed in herself. This book can be used for pre-k students and higher.

Learning Experience
I would read this story to encourage children to believe in themselves. We would also talk about things we have a hard time doing, then we would discuss things we can do in order to improve.

[Children's Literature Project]

There was a little girl who could do nothing right. She was clumsy and dropped things fairly often. Her great-aunt gives her a locket - a magic locket that will help her to do everything right. When the little girl wears the locket, she magically does everything right! She finally opens the locket and sees a picture of herself inside.

I love this book. It will be great for first grade read alouds.

[Jazmin Palma]

Just a beautiful story, I just love it. This book teaches children to believe on themselves. This would make a great read aloud for children and talking about believing on what they can do and in their selves. Children can easily get frustrated when they cannot get something right and in my classroom I will always be positive with my students and remind them to keep on trying and that they can do anything they set their mind to.

[Kathryn Sublett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be used to show students that they have what it takes to succeed. Good luck memorabilia does not affect students like the drive of will power from within. I would read this book to the class to remind students that they can do it! It would be appropriate for students in all elementary grade levels.

[Renae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite book when I was a little girl! I especially loved that it came with a locket I could wear! The main character gets this beautiful, magic locket that fixes all of her problems, only to find out the true magic was how confident and happy the locket made her feel that turned around all of her back luck. Such a sweet and uplifting story that I will always treasure!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl struggles with not doing things right. Her aunt presents her with a locket. After that she finds herself doing better. A great story about confidence. I remember this coming with a locket like the one in the book.

[Stefanie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my FAVORITE book when i was a little girl...probably because it came with a locket. But I think this would be a great book for little girls in the class to read maybe during centers or down time in the classroom.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet tale about the power of believing in yourself and a little magic too. It speaks to the bond between an older relative and a young girl and the mentoring and encouragement that an older person can offer. We really enjoyed this story.

[Kristina Arnold]

At the beginning of this book I did not like it because I do not want my children to believe in magic but themselves. It turns out this is what this book is really about believing in yourself which is very important.

[Divya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nicely written book - with pleasant pictures which teaches children about the magic of self-belief. It also serves as good early-reader for young ones to start off with - as the words are simple and repeat across the book.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book, and the illustrations are some of the best out of any picture book. They're super sweet.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 24 yr. old daughter still has her copy of this book stashed in her treasured childhood reading box.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute story of course, all about believing in yourself, but the real fun lay in the fact that the book came with a real locket for you to wear as well! SQUEE!

[Deborah · Rating 1 out of 5]

absolutely horrid. This turned up at work, and I had to improvise an alternative version on the spot because I didn't want to read the text as is to the four-year-old who brought it me.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really thought this book was magical.