The Magic in You is a book designed for young children. This story describes the adventures of a beautiful flower growing alone and lonely next to a road.

The flower encounters a rude goat that eats one of her petals. A speeding vehicle tramples her leaves such that she can no longer lift them. She is mocked and laughed at by the other flowers.

The lonely flower feels unhappy, unattractive, and unintelligent.

One night, she is visited by a fairy. The flower tells the fairy that if the fairy were to fix her imperfections, then the flower would be happy. The fairy, however, tells the flower, “You can become a beautiful, happy little flower any time you want.”

The rest of the story tells of the flower’s journey toward creating inner happiness. On this quest, she learns forgiveness, faith, and the power of love within her.

I loved this book because I am forever trying to teach my children this moral. The flower thinks that she’ll be happier if she is no longer disfigured. My older child thinks she will be happy when she has a steady income, a solid boyfriend/husband, the ability to buy the best clothes, and more freedom. My younger child thinks he will be happy when he has every video game ever made.

My attempts to explain that a person’s happiness is a daily choice one makes with one’s current resources are met with blank expressions. The Magic in You simplifies this statement in a way that a child can understand.

“The little flower was finally happy because she understood it made no difference if she was missing her splendid petal… or that she had a damaged leaf.”

My youngest child read the book and summed it up by saying that, “The Magic in You tells you that whatever you think about yourself, you have the choice to be pretty inside.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.