The Marvelous Magic of Miss Mabel by Natasha Lowe

Nora hears a noise on the front porch and goes out to see what it was.  What she finds is a baby in her planter.  She doesn't know who left her.  Her first thought is that she would turn her over to the authorities but as soon as she picks her up and the baby snuggles, she's lost that thought.  She never had children.  She'll raise this one and name her after her mother, Mabel.

Paula Wiseman Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published August 30th.

Mabel is a typical little girl with a magical touch.  Nora hires a nanny so she'll have all the care she needs when the maid is busy and she's working in the greenhouse.  The nanny is nasty.  She deprives Mabel of food, makes her do embroidery for hours and whacks her with her umbrella.  She tries to tell her mother about it but she only sees the nanny smile and be nice.   Even the maid is not happy because if Mabel doesn't eat her porridge, the nanny saves it and feeds it to her the next day.  Ugh!

They first notice her magic when Mabel floats in the sky.  Nora gets afraid for her and starts looking for answers.  When Mabel visits a fortune teller who says she is full of great magic, Nora decides to send her to witch school.  The only problem is that she doesn't want to do the things they teach.  And they won't let her experiment with magic; that only causes trouble.  She does her best to get along but one girl bullies her continually.  When she steals her magic idea for the exhibit and locks Mabel in the attic, trouble is coming.

Mabel is an independent free thinker and she doesn't fit in well with the establishment.  But it's her experiments and determination that save the day.

This was a fun read with enough silliness to make you laugh and enough antics to keep you reading.  Everything turns out well in the end.  Give it a read, you'll like it.