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Mandie #39
Mandie and the Missing Schoolmarm
When Mandie's grandmother learns that Miss Hope, Mandie's favorite teacher, has gone missing, a sudden trip to Asheville finds Mandie and her friends in the middle of a perplexing mystery! Why would Miss Hope leave without telling anyone?
Grandmother Taft wants to tell the police, but Miss Hope's sister, Miss Prudence, refuses - she doesn't want everyone to know about her personal life. But with no additional help, and the townspeople seeming to know nothing, it's almost as if no one even wants Miss Hope to be found...
Grandmother Taft wants to tell the police, but Miss Hope's sister, Miss Prudence, refuses - she doesn't want everyone to know about her personal life. But with no additional help, and the townspeople seeming to know nothing, it's almost as if no one even wants Miss Hope to be found...
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2004
4 people are currently reading
344 people want to read
About the author
Lois Gladys Leppard
119 books287 followersLois Gladys Leppard 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 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), 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".
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 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), 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".
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 31, 2018
About this book:
“Mandie’s favorite teacher, Miss Hope, has gone missing! The start of the school is fast approaching and everywhere they turn leads to a dead end. It’s almost as if no one wants Miss Hope to be found…”
Series: Book #39 in “Mandie” series. (To read the reviews of the previous books in this series, click the number to be taken to that review: #1! #2! #3! #4! #5! #6! #7! #8! #9! #10! #11! #12! #13! #14! #15! #16! #17! #18! #19! #20! #21! #22! #23! #24! #25! #26! #27! #28! #29! #30! #31! #32! #33! #34! #35! #36! #37! And #38!) {There also is the “Young Mandie Mystery” series, (Book #1 review Here and Book #2 review Here!) but they do not connect together well.}
Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted & prayed (twice); A couple Prayers; Church going; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of a church, church going, services, & preachers; A mention of a blessing over food;
*Note: Mentions of a (supposedly) haunted house & ghosts; A mention of devilish boys.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: five ‘shucks’; Mentions of a (possible) kidnapping; A few mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of a nightmare; A couple mentions of a (possible) burglar.
Sexual Content- A couple mentions of blushes.
-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 15
P.O.V. of Mandie
Set in 1903
159 pages (also available in a collection with four other Mandie books)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
New Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
I vaguely remembered this one from my first time reading it many years ago. Not a very favorite due to it’s rushed ending, but it’s still a good one and I did like the last chapter! ;)
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
“Mandie’s favorite teacher, Miss Hope, has gone missing! The start of the school is fast approaching and everywhere they turn leads to a dead end. It’s almost as if no one wants Miss Hope to be found…”
Series: Book #39 in “Mandie” series. (To read the reviews of the previous books in this series, click the number to be taken to that review: #1! #2! #3! #4! #5! #6! #7! #8! #9! #10! #11! #12! #13! #14! #15! #16! #17! #18! #19! #20! #21! #22! #23! #24! #25! #26! #27! #28! #29! #30! #31! #32! #33! #34! #35! #36! #37! And #38!) {There also is the “Young Mandie Mystery” series, (Book #1 review Here and Book #2 review Here!) but they do not connect together well.}
Spiritual Content- A Scripture is quoted & prayed (twice); A couple Prayers; Church going; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of a church, church going, services, & preachers; A mention of a blessing over food;
*Note: Mentions of a (supposedly) haunted house & ghosts; A mention of devilish boys.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: five ‘shucks’; Mentions of a (possible) kidnapping; A few mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of a nightmare; A couple mentions of a (possible) burglar.
Sexual Content- A couple mentions of blushes.
-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 15
P.O.V. of Mandie
Set in 1903
159 pages (also available in a collection with four other Mandie books)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
New Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
I vaguely remembered this one from my first time reading it many years ago. Not a very favorite due to it’s rushed ending, but it’s still a good one and I did like the last chapter! ;)
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
Read
January 1, 2021Cross-posted from my blog where there's more information on where I got my copy and links and everything.
So this book was really racist. I did a tiny bit of research into the other books in this series (and by that, I mean I read reviews for the early books and the wikipedia page) and apparently that was even worse in the early books. Like that wasn’t okay in 1983 and it sure was not a good look in this book published in 2004.
So apparently Mandie’s maternal grandmother was Cherokee and there’s a whole thing about how she gets teased about that but honestly I cannot see any of that being handled well. The character of “Uncle Ned”, a Cherokee man, is so sterotypical and kind of offensive. Maybe she meant well, but holy cow someone should have put a stop to this. The only thing I think is half-decent is that the author actually names a specific tribe, but I feel like that’s basically that racist “my grandmother was a Cherokee princess” trope.
This book also does not tell you if anyone is Black but also, it’s 1900ish and they have servants and… it’s kind of obvious which characters are not white because they all speak very stereotypically. Like… you know what I mean. Beyond that, there’s a difference in how they’re addressed. White people are addressed with honorifics, like “Miss FirstName”, “Mrs. LastName”, “Mr. Last Name” or titles, like “Grandmother Taft” or “Preacher LastName”. People of colour are addressed by their first names, or by “Aunt FirstName” or “Uncle FirstName”, which is an issue and trigger warnings on those links because they have some real heavy content.
If we manage to put that aside, this was kind of boring? Mandie doesn’t actually really do anything. If she claims this is a mystery SHE solved, she’s lying because she does nothing to solve it. NOTHING. And it’s kind of sexist. When the characters COULD do something, the boys did it. Almost all of their time is spent driving around and repeating conversations they’d already had. And eating boring food. I’ve never before gotten this sick of hearing about chocolate cake. The descriptions just do nothing for me, whether it’s about food or about clothing. “She put on a blue dress” is not interesting. But boy did the book not miss an opportunity to tell us about Mandie’s blue eyes and blonde hair!
Also I know this is a Christian book, and apparently this one has way, way less preaching than the early books but. It’s incorporated really awkwardly. It’s almost like the author got sick of having to put Christian stuff in it. Besides them going to church, the first mention of any type of Christian content is page 133 of 159 when Mandie and her friend think they’re in danger, and they pray. It’s one paragraph long and the summary of it is, “They prayed and felt better.”
Is it just me or does standing completely still and praying out loud when you think someone in a pitch black room might be trying to hurt you seem like a really bad idea? Just an odd choice to me. I don’t think they actually ever pray for the teacher who’s missing, even.
Anyways, would not recommend this series, and did not particularly enjoy this one. I’m gonna pass it along when I have the ability to get rid of books again.
So this book was really racist. I did a tiny bit of research into the other books in this series (and by that, I mean I read reviews for the early books and the wikipedia page) and apparently that was even worse in the early books. Like that wasn’t okay in 1983 and it sure was not a good look in this book published in 2004.
So apparently Mandie’s maternal grandmother was Cherokee and there’s a whole thing about how she gets teased about that but honestly I cannot see any of that being handled well. The character of “Uncle Ned”, a Cherokee man, is so sterotypical and kind of offensive. Maybe she meant well, but holy cow someone should have put a stop to this. The only thing I think is half-decent is that the author actually names a specific tribe, but I feel like that’s basically that racist “my grandmother was a Cherokee princess” trope.
This book also does not tell you if anyone is Black but also, it’s 1900ish and they have servants and… it’s kind of obvious which characters are not white because they all speak very stereotypically. Like… you know what I mean. Beyond that, there’s a difference in how they’re addressed. White people are addressed with honorifics, like “Miss FirstName”, “Mrs. LastName”, “Mr. Last Name” or titles, like “Grandmother Taft” or “Preacher LastName”. People of colour are addressed by their first names, or by “Aunt FirstName” or “Uncle FirstName”, which is an issue and trigger warnings on those links because they have some real heavy content.
If we manage to put that aside, this was kind of boring? Mandie doesn’t actually really do anything. If she claims this is a mystery SHE solved, she’s lying because she does nothing to solve it. NOTHING. And it’s kind of sexist. When the characters COULD do something, the boys did it. Almost all of their time is spent driving around and repeating conversations they’d already had. And eating boring food. I’ve never before gotten this sick of hearing about chocolate cake. The descriptions just do nothing for me, whether it’s about food or about clothing. “She put on a blue dress” is not interesting. But boy did the book not miss an opportunity to tell us about Mandie’s blue eyes and blonde hair!
Also I know this is a Christian book, and apparently this one has way, way less preaching than the early books but. It’s incorporated really awkwardly. It’s almost like the author got sick of having to put Christian stuff in it. Besides them going to church, the first mention of any type of Christian content is page 133 of 159 when Mandie and her friend think they’re in danger, and they pray. It’s one paragraph long and the summary of it is, “They prayed and felt better.”
Is it just me or does standing completely still and praying out loud when you think someone in a pitch black room might be trying to hurt you seem like a really bad idea? Just an odd choice to me. I don’t think they actually ever pray for the teacher who’s missing, even.
Anyways, would not recommend this series, and did not particularly enjoy this one. I’m gonna pass it along when I have the ability to get rid of books again.
July 12, 2024
Once again, disclaimer that this series contains offensive stereotypes of people of color and those with various disabilities.
I am giving this one two stars because it was one of the better Mandie books in my opinion. If I ever I feel a hankering for a re-read (trust me, it will be a long time before that happens), this would be a good one to read.
Now, on to my notes.
Aside from the obvious, I have three gripes with the way this book was written.
Number one, there was an earlier book that included a plot point where we discovered that Hilda was not mute because she speaks fluent Cherokee. But ever since that book, we have retconned that plot point. There are frequent mentions that Hilda is mute, and this one even says that they don't know if she's mute or mentally disabled. But we do know that she's neither of these things, she just can't speak English. What the hell?
Number two, there is a scene where Mandie looks around at her friends. It mentions that Jonathan grins in response. Then it says, "she could tell they were all disappointed". What do you mean? You just said Jonathan grinned! Relatively small thing, but it was weird and it bothered me.
Number three, these rushed endings are killing me. We didn't get everything solved until the last two pages and we barely got it solved at that. I would have much preferred to see Miss Hope's dissappearance solved in chapter 11 when they stopped by the house after solving the attic issues. That way, we could get some resolution in chapter 12 and wrap it up less sloppily. Like, here me out on this: Ben pulls up to the remodeled house. He peers in the window, and jumps. "Mrs. Taft, there is someone inside! It's a woman!" The ganger knocks on the door, Miss Hope answers. She's surprised to see Mrs. Taft, mentions that she thought everyone was out of town. Mandie remarks that Miss Hope is not wearing traditional, black schoolmarm clothes. Miss Hope invites everyone inside to explain. They note the furniture, Miss Hope tells them Willie moved it in for her that afternoon because her fiance was busy making preparations at school. Fiance? Yes, Miss Hope is engaged to Mr. Chadwick and they are actually marrying tomorrow morning in a small, quiet ceremony. She wanted Miss Prudence to come, but her sister wouldn't have it. Turns out, the sisters had a falling out over the engagement. Miss Hope is hurrying up the wedding because of it but she doesn't understand why Miss Prudence is so upset over the engagement. I chapter 12, we get the sisters back together and talking, some kind of back story is revealed, they forgive each other, and then Miss Hope and Mr. Chadwick have their quiet little wedding. The town erupts in celebration after the fact. Mandie can stoll mention that she wants to run off and get married and Joe can still squeeze her had to end the story.
Okay, let's talk about what I did like.
First, the clue breadcrumbing was miles better than the last 15 Mandie books I've read. It's about damn time for this.
The first two chapters were better in pacing and activity than any of the previous books I can remember. I liked how the ending of chapter 2 was written. It was easy to imagine because it was a very stereotypical cozy mystery scene and I'm certainly not mad about it. They was a lot of that in this book. Most of it felt like a proper cozy mystery. Finally!
I really liked the driving around and talking to witnesses. Even though the dialogue is very repetitive, it was nice to see the crew venturing about and doing detective work and not just going up and downstairs to search the same location over and over. They did go back to repition in the middle, but it had a point this time. We were supposed to pick up on the fact that everyone was in kahoots. They weren't always coming up empty-handed and when they were, it had a story reason.
Mandie's nightmare sequence was new and different. The drowning in books was probably one of Leppard's best written scenes.
The late night race to the school at the end of chapter 11 was also fun and exciting! It's always good to get a little adventure in this setting.
I did guess in the last quarter of the book that Miss Hope had run away to get married and that the town was in on it. This might not be a good thing because I am very stupid and can't figure out mysteries on my own. Your mileage may vary, but for me this was a plus. Congrats to me, I can solve mysteries like an 11-year-old girl.
Alright, let's dive in and knock out this last book so I can out this series to bed once and for all!
I am giving this one two stars because it was one of the better Mandie books in my opinion. If I ever I feel a hankering for a re-read (trust me, it will be a long time before that happens), this would be a good one to read.
Now, on to my notes.
Aside from the obvious, I have three gripes with the way this book was written.
Number one, there was an earlier book that included a plot point where we discovered that Hilda was not mute because she speaks fluent Cherokee. But ever since that book, we have retconned that plot point. There are frequent mentions that Hilda is mute, and this one even says that they don't know if she's mute or mentally disabled. But we do know that she's neither of these things, she just can't speak English. What the hell?
Number two, there is a scene where Mandie looks around at her friends. It mentions that Jonathan grins in response. Then it says, "she could tell they were all disappointed". What do you mean? You just said Jonathan grinned! Relatively small thing, but it was weird and it bothered me.
Number three, these rushed endings are killing me. We didn't get everything solved until the last two pages and we barely got it solved at that. I would have much preferred to see Miss Hope's dissappearance solved in chapter 11 when they stopped by the house after solving the attic issues. That way, we could get some resolution in chapter 12 and wrap it up less sloppily. Like, here me out on this: Ben pulls up to the remodeled house. He peers in the window, and jumps. "Mrs. Taft, there is someone inside! It's a woman!" The ganger knocks on the door, Miss Hope answers. She's surprised to see Mrs. Taft, mentions that she thought everyone was out of town. Mandie remarks that Miss Hope is not wearing traditional, black schoolmarm clothes. Miss Hope invites everyone inside to explain. They note the furniture, Miss Hope tells them Willie moved it in for her that afternoon because her fiance was busy making preparations at school. Fiance? Yes, Miss Hope is engaged to Mr. Chadwick and they are actually marrying tomorrow morning in a small, quiet ceremony. She wanted Miss Prudence to come, but her sister wouldn't have it. Turns out, the sisters had a falling out over the engagement. Miss Hope is hurrying up the wedding because of it but she doesn't understand why Miss Prudence is so upset over the engagement. I chapter 12, we get the sisters back together and talking, some kind of back story is revealed, they forgive each other, and then Miss Hope and Mr. Chadwick have their quiet little wedding. The town erupts in celebration after the fact. Mandie can stoll mention that she wants to run off and get married and Joe can still squeeze her had to end the story.
Okay, let's talk about what I did like.
First, the clue breadcrumbing was miles better than the last 15 Mandie books I've read. It's about damn time for this.
The first two chapters were better in pacing and activity than any of the previous books I can remember. I liked how the ending of chapter 2 was written. It was easy to imagine because it was a very stereotypical cozy mystery scene and I'm certainly not mad about it. They was a lot of that in this book. Most of it felt like a proper cozy mystery. Finally!
I really liked the driving around and talking to witnesses. Even though the dialogue is very repetitive, it was nice to see the crew venturing about and doing detective work and not just going up and downstairs to search the same location over and over. They did go back to repition in the middle, but it had a point this time. We were supposed to pick up on the fact that everyone was in kahoots. They weren't always coming up empty-handed and when they were, it had a story reason.
Mandie's nightmare sequence was new and different. The drowning in books was probably one of Leppard's best written scenes.
The late night race to the school at the end of chapter 11 was also fun and exciting! It's always good to get a little adventure in this setting.
I did guess in the last quarter of the book that Miss Hope had run away to get married and that the town was in on it. This might not be a good thing because I am very stupid and can't figure out mysteries on my own. Your mileage may vary, but for me this was a plus. Congrats to me, I can solve mysteries like an 11-year-old girl.
Alright, let's dive in and knock out this last book so I can out this series to bed once and for all!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2017
Finally! A Mandie mystery that has much more of an actual mystery than the last few books have had. One of the headmistresses at Mandie's school has disappeared, and clues leading to her whereabouts are limited. How will they be able to track her down and return the woman to safety?
I could almost see the Mandie Shaw from this book one day becoming a lady Pinkerton detective.
"The only thing about solving this mystery is Mandie will find another one just as soon as we end this one. It's an endless business," Joe said, smiling at Mandie.
I could almost see the Mandie Shaw from this book one day becoming a lady Pinkerton detective.
"The only thing about solving this mystery is Mandie will find another one just as soon as we end this one. It's an endless business," Joe said, smiling at Mandie.
September 7, 2017
I was so glad when I read this book that it is a change of pace from some of the most recent ones in the series, it was great for a real mystery to take place again.
This mystery was about one of Mandie's teachers that has gone missing and no one can find a trace of her in the town anywhere. Throughout the book Mandie and her friends go around to different people asking about the teacher and spend a lot of time trying to figure it out. I was very pleased that this was a more complicated story and liked the surprise ending.
This mystery was about one of Mandie's teachers that has gone missing and no one can find a trace of her in the town anywhere. Throughout the book Mandie and her friends go around to different people asking about the teacher and spend a lot of time trying to figure it out. I was very pleased that this was a more complicated story and liked the surprise ending.
June 7, 2025
if I had a daughter I'd pass thus series to her
June 11, 2020
The Mandie books are fun Christian mysteries for children, but I still love reading them. Even though she doesn't age very quickly and seems to get far too many breaks from school during the year, she's a lot of fun.
Read
September 24, 2007Leppard, Lois G. PB
February 24, 2024
Fun but bland for the series
January 31, 2009
This is one of my favorite Mandie books!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews