Mandie and the Singing Chalet

Mandie #17

by Lois Gladys Leppard

When Mandie, Celia, Jonathan, Mrs. Taft, Senator Morton and Uncle Ned leave Italy, they know that the house they are traveling to in Switzerland is surrounded with mystery. The very ancient, very large chalet they will stay at has unusual things going on that no one has been able to figure out.

Could the rumors and tales surrounding the chalet possibly be true? What about the singing that is heard late at night, but in unintelligible words?

Strange as well are the servants and some of the other quests at the chalet. What's really going on here?

A fine setting for Mandie and her friends to work on another mystery!

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Childrens, Christian Fiction, Young Adult

175 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1991

About the author

Lois 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".

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Mandie and the Singing Chalet
Author: Lois Gladys Leppard
Series: Mandie, 17
Format: ebook, bind-up
Length: N/A
Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis: When Mandie, Celia, Jonathan, Mrs. Taft, Senator Morton and Uncle Ned leave Italy, they know that the house they are traveling to in Switzerland is surrounded with mystery. The very ancient, very large chalet they will stay at has unusual things going on that no one has been able to figure out.
Could the rumors and tales surrounding the chalet possibly be true? What about the singing that is heard late at night, but in unintelligible words?
Strange as well are the servants and some of the other quests at the chalet. What's really going on here?
A fine setting for Mandie and her friends to work on another mystery!

Favourite character: Jonathan
Least favourite character: Mandie

Mini-review: This was alright. Mandie and the gang are at a chalet in Switzerland where they hear mysterious singing at night. So Mandie and her friends go behind her Grandmother's back (big surprise) to solve the mystery. Not to mention Uncle Ned, who for some reason knows people in Europe.

Fan Cast:
Amanda "Mandie" Shaw - Emma Rayne Lyle
Celia Hamilton - Sadie Sink
Jonathan Lindall Guyer III - Louis Hynes
Grandmother Taft - Meryl Streep
Senator Morton - Donald Sutherland
Uncle Ned Sweetwater - Zahn McClarnon

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series! Very intriguing and attracting!

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 4 out of 5]

About this book:

“When Mandie, Celia, Jonathan, Mrs. Taft, Senator Morton and Uncle Ned leave Italy, they know that the house they are traveling to in Switzerland is surrounded with mystery. The very ancient, very large chalet they will stay at has unusual things going on that no one has been able to figure out.
Could the rumors and tales surrounding the chalet possibly be true? What about the singing that is heard late at night, but in unintelligible words?
Strange as well are the servants and some of the other quests at the chalet. What's really going on here?”


Series: Book #17 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!) {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- Proverbs 14:21 at the beginning; A few prayers; A Scripture is quoted & prayed; Mentions of God; Mentions of churches, sermons, hymns & denominations; A couple mentions of praying;
*Note: Mentions of a tower that people think is haunted by the spirit of a dead girl; Mentions of bad luck, superstitions & those who believe in ghosts (Mandie & her friends don’t).


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘stupid’ and two ‘shucks’; A bit of jealous; Mentions of a tale of a heartbroken girl who jumped off a tower; Mentions of pain & bruises (barely-above-not-detailed).


Sexual Content- A couple mentions of Joe & Mandie when they’re older.

-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 13
P.O.V. of Mandie
Set in 1901
175 pages (also available in a collection with four other Mandie books.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
New Teens- Four Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars (and a half)
I so enjoy these Mandie mysteries—especially these set in Europe! :)


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.

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This was a really good addition to the series. In Leppard’s “Mandie and the Singing Chalet” The kids and irresponsible grandma and her lover are off to a beautiful chalet in Switzerland! Mandie is already in her typical paranoid attitude when they arrived (she’s even more paranoid than normal because Uncle Ned told her this Chalet has a mystery), and the huge old house they are staying in starts revealing its mysteries and secrets. Right away, scary stuff happens. The first night is filled with doorknobs being moved, strange sounds, and singing!

There was plenty good moments and parts of this book. The description of the setting is really good! I love the setting itself, beautiful but borderline spooky! Mandie and Celia’s character is quite unique, Mandie is bold and sometimes stupid, Celia is cautious but brave when she needs to be. The whole “rescue” of Mandie by Celia was one of the best parts, she’s one of my favorite characters. The cliffhangers were really good, it was very hard to put down!

As well as good parts, there were also some bad parts. Jonathan really let me down in this book. He seems way to much like Joe now, following Mandie in whatever adventure she wishes to be apart of, and suggesting absolutely CRAZY things. He was the one that originally brought the absolute terrible idea of climbing the roof, which I really didn’t expect from him. The kids are really dumb in this book. They move off of suspicion and theories, and then do crazy bad stuff, like snooping through people’s rooms and quarters just because they assume they are “suspicious”. I was shocked to hear they even considered breaking a window just to get into the stupid tower! The main problem is they are never taught a lesson, so the younger readers don’t really learn that it’s absolutely not ok to snoop and break over people’s stuff!

For me, the main reason I rated this 4 stars instead of 5 is because the build up was HUGE! I mean, while it was page-turning, it went on and on and on with them spying and snooping through their friend’s house. The problem is after this build up, the conclusion was kind of lame-ish. While certainly a plot twist, I feel like it could’ve been more interesting. The whole mystery was explained in one chapter, and it felt really rushed and not well-explained. I think the author could’ve done better explaining it in two chapters, and leaving out a little of the build up.

Overall, this is probably one of my favorite in the series (not my most favorite, that is the Silent Catacombs). I couldn’t recommend the Mandie series enough! I love these books, I like laughing at the kid’s crazy and somewhat stupid theories and adventures! 4/5 stars.

Favorite quote: Mandie spoke harshly to the man, “Would you please take your dog somewhere else? He’s disturbing my cat.”

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mandie and her traveling party are now in Switzerland. They planned on staying at a chalet that was owned by friends of her grandmother. It turned out that the owners were away, but they still had permission to stay at the casle. Mandie was very much interested in the tower, who was supposed to be haunted by a singing ghost. Mandie and her friend, Celia, were awakened several times by someone who was singing. At the same time, a mysterious couple was also staying at the chalet. Mandie was sure they were somehow involved with the tower. What was going on, and who was singing? Mandie was determined to find the answer. With her cat's help the young people solve the mystery.

[Mari Koopmans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finshed this Mandie Book, so reccomend it, Mandie, Celia, Jonathan, Mrs. Taft and Sentor Morton stay at a house in I think Swizlerlind and they stay at Mrs. Tafts friends house. Mandie's Cherakee Friend, Uncle Ned, told Mandie and her friends that there is a secret of the house. Is it true? Read to find out!

[Telisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

They search for the mysterious singer.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting. I love the Europe settings

[Chrysanthemum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this one was a dragged on a bit and rushed at the end - other than that it was good comfort read.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeeze. Never mind the fact this child has been kidnapped half a dozen times in the first year of this series, this book displays her immense stupidity.

Staying at a chalet in Switzerland, Mandie convinces her friends there’s a singing ghost or something in the tower only because she can’t find the access to the tower.

Which the servants have told her is too dangerous to explore.

Does Mandie listen to her hosts? She does not.

Instead she ”plans” to “investigate” by stealing rope and a hammer and WALKING ACROSS THE ROOF AT NIGHT TO BREAK INTO THE TOWER.

when she predictably falls & her friends have to save her Mandie is so overcome with guilt she doesn’t tell any adult what she did, continues to investigate and goes into the dangerous tower without permission.

I’m sure when I read this book as a 12 year old it seemed plucky and adventurous but, in reality, Mandie is just a spoiled brat and stupid.

[Eliza Shiels · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book I couldn't put it down it was the first book I read in this series (even though it was book 17) but that didn't seem to matter which I loved absolutely loved! I would definitely recommend this book.

[wanderer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit it: I am reviewing these books years after reading them. However, do not even suggest that I'm no longer qualified, that too many years have passed to remember. My battered and faded copies of these books testify to how many times I read them growing up and plots and entire passages are seared in my memory forever.

Snowball always ran away, Mandie always got in trouble, Uncle Ned always rescued her, and Joe and Tommy bristled at each other. I myself preferred Joe, but Tommy's cosmopolitan airs nearly tipped the balance a time or two. I recall- fondly and as though it were yesterday- my glee when Mandie went off to Europe, my disgust at the new baby, my delight in Mandie's wardrobe of sky blue frocks, my puzzlement at all her near escapes and handy school vacations, my terror during the daring midnight adventures. Ah me, to be young and silly again...

If I had written goodreads reviews at the age of eleven, all Mandie books would've received automatic five-star ratings and gushing descriptions. As an adult, I will honestly give them all three stars, except for my special pets. And if I ever have a little girl, I will buy her the entire set. Oh, and did you know there are more than forty books in the series by now? And I'm guessing Mandie never grows up, either.

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the beautiful scenery of Switzerland, that the author describes so vividly, a secret race is spinning between Mandie with the help of her friends, and some mysterious, secluded strangers.

Who is going to find the owner of that enchanting voice that sings in the late night? Who is going to discover the hidden tower's secret? And what about that tiny locked-up cottage, that no one seems to know about?
With so many questions, and nobody with answers, curiosity kills the cat... and Mandie is the cat facing it's fatal adventure.

While reading this book, my mind kept trying to solve all the mysteries that were behind the strange incidents, but I never could have imagined such a surprise that came out of the ending....

I think this is one of the best Mandie books that I have read, as of yet!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Cws]

JMAR5-lep

[Superreader200 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Mandie book! 5 stars!

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun European adventure

[JL · Rating 1 out of 5]

9%

[ᰔvaleria vicenteᰔ]

Read for elementary

[Partridge Public]

Leppard,Lois G. PB

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a particular favorite.