Hi, @fredaig :)

Yes, Maria felt identified with the mollusk. It was a surprise for me. When it comes to tales, a kid will commonly feel identified with the protagonist; more rarely, they feel identified with a secondary character, even an incidental one, but "with a thing"?! It had never happen before, not to me. As a reading & writing teacher, I must say that one has to expect anything from inexperienced readers. They have an uncanny eye for detail and can surprise us in a big way.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post. best of luck! :)