Lois Gladys Leppard (1924 – October 5, 2008) was the author of the
Mandie series of children's novels. Leppard wrote her first Mandie story when she was only eleven and a half years old, but did not become a professional author until she was an adult. Leppard has also worked as a professional singer, actress, and playwright. At one time, she and her two sisters, Sybil and Louise, formed a singing group called the Larke Sisters.
There are forty ''Mandie'' books in the main series, an eight-book junior series and several other titles. Leppard said that she could write a ''Mandie'' book in two weeks, barring any interruptions.
The eponymous heroine lives in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
in the early 1900s, encountering adventure and solving mysteries with help from her friends, family, and pet cat, Snowball. These young reader novels are meant to teach morals as well as be fun and captivating stories to read. Leppard stated that her books contain "nothing occult or vulgar", and Mandie is depicted as a faithful
Christian. The ''Mandie'' books often deal with issues of discrimination and prejudice relating to race (particularly with regard to the local
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
), class, and disability.
Lois Gladys Leppard based some of the incidents in her Mandie books on her mother's experiences growing up in North Carolina. The dedication in the first book is: "For My Mother, Bessie A. Wilson Leppard, and In Memory of Her Sister, Lillie Margaret Ann Wilson Frady, Orphans of North Carolina Who Outgrew the Sufferings of Childhood".
Books
The Mandie Series
The Lily Adventures
# ''Secret Money'' (1995)
# ''Suspicious Identity'' (1995)
Film
A straight to DVD movie based on some of the books in the ''Mandie'' series was released on September 22, 2009. The first movie, titled after the first book of the series, ''
Mandie and the Secret Tunnel'', has a cast that includes
Lexi Johnson (as Mandie),
Dean Jones, and
William Yelton. The rights to produce a film based on ''Mandie and the Secret Tunnel'' are currently owned by Kalon Media. Two further films have been produced.
Mandie movies
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See also
References
External links
Lois Gladys Leppard at Fantastic Fiction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leppard, Lois Gladys
Christian writers
1924 births
2008 deaths
American children's writers