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Saturday, July 16, 2016

No Crystal Ball Required: Mira Forecasts the Future by Kelli Andrews


MIRA COULDN'T TELL THE FUTURE.
That wouldn't bother most people, but Mira's mom is the famous Madame Mirabell, the Miracle by the Sea.

WHEN MIRA GAZED INTO HER CRYSTAL BALL, SHE ONLY SAW HERSELF.

Mira tries faking it, but her predictions always seriously miss the mark. When she tells a boy that good fortune is about to drop in his lap, the scoop of ice cream in his cone comes in for a landing--where else?--right in his lap.

Mira is morose about her future career options.

But then one day Fisherman Fred asks for a forecast for the day's fishing. Mira notices the steady wind moving the pinwheel and windsock pinned to her mother's booth.  She notices the small fleecy clouds in the sunny sky and foretells good weather all day.  Fred is grateful.

Mira thinks she's on to something and borrows a few books on weather from the library. And the next day Mira hangs out her shingle:
WEATHER FORECAST
FREE FOR ALL
The regulars on the boardwalk and beach--Sam the Pizza Man, Taylor the Lifeguard, and Ms. O'Mooney the Beach Shop manager--become her daily patrons. Mira feels good about her job.

But then push comes to shove.  The day of the annual surfing contest dawns bright and sunny, but when Mira consults her barometer, her wind direction indicators, and her cloud formations book, she realizes that they all point to an approaching storm--a BIG STORM.
"GET EVERYONE OFF THE BEACH!" MIRA ADVISES.
"DON'T LISTEN TO HER!" SAID THE JUDGE.

Will Mira's prognostications prove proficient? It won't be hard for young readers to foresee what happens next, as Kelli Andrews' new Mira Forecasts the Future (Sterling Books, 2016) proves that meteorology trumps magic every time in a sunny story of a girl who finds that  a talent for science is also helpful in predicting the future. Lissi Marlin's illustrations of a retro beach town are bright and cheery as befits a summery beach story, and all's well that ends well down on the boardwalk.

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