Lois Gladys Leppard

Lois Gladys Leppard (d.October 5, 2008) is 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. [http://www.mandie.com/author.htm] She studied at the New York School of Music and the Voice Beautiful Institute in New York. At one time, she and her two sisters, Sybil and Louise, formed a singing group called the Larke Sisters.

As of 2004 there were forty "Mandie" books. The eponymous heroine lives in North Carolina in the early 1900s and encounters adventure and solves 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 promises that her books contain "nothing occult or vulgar" [http://www.mandie.com/about.htm] , 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), class, and disability.

A note from one of her readers- The Mandie serise is a great way to learn about historical happenings.She passed away on October 5, 2008 at the age of 84 years old.

Books

Mandie Series

Published by Bethany House publishers.

Main Series
# Mandie and the Secret Tunnel
# Mandie and the Cherokee Legend
# Mandie and the Ghost Bandits
# Mandie and the Forbidden Attic
# Mandie and the Trunk's Secret
# Mandie and the Medicine Man
# Mandie and the Charleston Phantom
# Mandie and the Abandoned Mine
# Mandie and the Hidden Treasure
# Mandie and the Mysterious Bells
# Mandie and the Holiday Surprise
# Mandie and the Washington Nightmare
# Mandie and the Midnight Journey
# Mandie and the Shipboard Mystery
# Mandie and the Foreign Spies
# Mandie and the Silent Catacombs
# Mandie and the Singing Chalet
# Mandie and the Jumping Juniper
# Mandie and the Mysterious Fisherman
# Mandie and the Windmill's Message
# Mandie and the Fiery Rescue
# Mandie and the Angel's Secret
# Mandie and the Dangerous Imposters
# Mandie and the Invisible Troublemaker
# Mandie and Her Missing Kin
# Mandie and the Schoolhouse's Secret
# Mandie and the Courtroom Battle
# Mandie and the Jonathan's Predicament
# Mandie and the Unwanted Gift
# Mandie and the Long Goodbye
# Mandie and the Buried Stranger
# Mandie and the Seaside Rendezvous
# Mandie and the Dark Alley
# Mandie and the Tornado
# Mandie and the Quilt Mystery
# Mandie and the New York Secret
# Mandie and the Night Thief
# Mandie and the Hidden Past
# Mandie and the Missing Schoolmarm
# Mandie and the Graduation Mystery

The "Young Mandie" series:
# Who's Mandie (1999)
# The New Girl
# The Mystery at Miss Abigail's
# Merry Christmas From Mandie
# The Talking Snowman
# The Secret in the Woods
# The Missing Book
# The Haunted Shop

Special "Mandie" books:
* Mandie and Mollie & The Angel's Visit (2002)
* Mandie's Cookbook
* Mandie and Joe's Christmas Surprise
* Mandie Datebook
* Mandie Diary

Mandie's College Years:
# New Horizons (2006)

Lily Adventures

# Secret Money
# Suspicious Identity
# Accidental Dreams (never published)
# Mysterious Revelations (never published)

Film

A movie based on the "Mandie" series is set to be released in Spring 2008. The 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.