Mandie
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[edit] The Mandie books
The Mandie books are a popular series by Lois Gladys Leppard, intended for children ages 8-12 years old. The story takes place around year 1900, when Mandie is 12 years old.
Mandie's full name is Amanda Elizabeth Shaw. She was born in 1888 and grew up in a log cabin in Swain County, North Carolina, with her beloved father James "Jim" Alexander Shaw, her stepmother Etta, and her stepsister. Amanda knew nothing about her family background until her father, Jim died. Then her father's old Cherokee friend Ned Sweetwater (referred to as Uncle Ned) came to take her away from the evil stepmother. Mandie, Uncle Ned, and several Cherokee warriors escorted Mandie to the home of her rich uncle John Shaw, who Mandie had never heard about before.
Mandie is soon reunited with her birth mother, Elizabeth, and learns the truth about her history. Mandie's paternal grandmother was Cherokee. Mandie meets many new friends among the Cherokee people. On one occasion she finds a cave with gold that belonged to a Cherokee warrior, Tsali. In 1901, Mandie goes to a girl's boarding school in Asheville. The school is strict, but Mandie doesn't care about bending the rules when there is a mystery to solve!
The Mandie books are Christian in theme. Every book begins with a short quote from the Bible that relates to the story of the book. Mandie prays when troubled, and attempts to demonstrate Christian virtues of tolerance and compassion. Mandie is proud to be part Cherokee and she has a diverse group of friends, including a mentally retarded girl. However, some critics have complained that the Cherokee characters in the Mandie books are depicted in a stereotypical manner; for instance, Uncle Ned's English is poor and his speech is filled with terms like "happy hunting grounds", "squaw", and "papoose".
Author Lois Gladys Leppard was a Federal Civil Service employee in various countries around the world. She now makes her home in South Carolina. Stories of her own mother's childhood are the basis for many of the incidents incorporated in this series.
More than 7 million copies have been printed of the Mandie series, which consist of 40 books to date.
In addition to the forty numbered books, there are a few others: Mandie & Mollie & the angel's visit Mandie's cookbook
After the Mandie series, we follow 16 year old Mandie and Celia to college in the series New Horizons. These books are for older children, and take place at the college, with little reference to her past. Official website: http://mandie.com/
