Mandie and the Quilt Mystery

Mandie #35

by Lois Gladys Leppard

While digging through a chest, Mandie and her friends discover some wonderful old quilts, some of them made by her Cherokee grandmother some time ago. Uncle Ned has shown up with another quilt of her grandmother's, one Mandie has seen before with very unusual looking Cherokee writing on it. She had asked him to find out what the message was, but now he tells her to pack it away, that what it says is dangerous. Mandie, as you might guess, is more curious than ever! What is the secret sewn onto what seems to be a simple bed covering? Mandie is about to find out, and the truth will surprise everyone! Includes quilt block pattern and easy-to-follow quilting instructions.

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

156 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

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

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 3 out of 5]

About this book:

“Uncle Ned returns the quilt with the Cherokee message to Mandie, but refuses to tell her what it means! Now she is more curious than ever.”


Series: Book #35 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! And #34!) {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- Psalm 56:3 at the beginning; A Scripture is quoted & prayed; A couple Prayers; Mentions of a missionary & ministers; A few mentions of God; A couple mentions of prayers & praying; A mention of a sin;
*Note: A couple mentions of a “curse”.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: three ‘shuck’s; Mentions of a tornado (Book #34); Mentions of hatred for a certain group of people; Mentions of hunting; A few mentions of switches & spankings; A couple mentions of lies & lying; A mention of a boy caught in a bear trap.


Sexual Content- A few Blushes; A bit of noticing a handsome boy & feeling shy around him; A few mentions of good-looking boys; A couple mentions of Mandie & Joe possibly marrying when they’re older; A couple mentions of blushes.

-Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, age 14
P.O.V. of Mandie
Set in 1903
156 pages (also available in a collection with two other Mandie books.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
New Teens- Four Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
While not a favorite Mandie mystery of mine, it still is a good one with good lessons—and more Mandie and Joe parts. We also find out the Riley isn’t much older than Joe in this one and my honest reaction is to tell him to stay away from Mandie. That girl has enough wannabe suitors! ;)


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.

[Beth Dunkum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love the Major Mandie series and read them all when my oldest daughter was growing up. She still has the entire collection. I recently stumbled upon another copy of this book and now that I'm a quilter I decided to reread it. And now, I plan to make the album quilt Mandie learns to make in this book. The original instructions and pattern are included at the back of the book.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the Mandy books because they are mystery and I really like this one because it is so small. I will be getting more of them out of the library.

[AshPotatoes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Obligatory warning that once again, Mandie books contain a lot of offensive stereotypes of minority groups including POC and disabled people. In this one, Mandie spends most of the book vilifying a Native American relative of hers for "hating all white people" and ends this book with a tirade where she distances herself from her own grandmother for expressing hatred towards white people in the mid-1800s. It's lovely.

So, here are my notes from reading through the book in order.

There is a weird scene in the first few chapters where Mrs. Taft and Elizabeth discuss travel plans. For some reason, we spend that conversation getting a play by play recap from Mandie's perspective of what was just said and Mandie's trying to predict how the conversation will play out. This is weird because Mandie is physically in the room during the conversation and only about 6 sentances are exchanged. Super bizarre writing, feels like a word count assignment that Leppard was just trying to push through with as little thought as possible.

Next, Uncle Ned tells Mandie it's a sin to waste food. I've never heard of this before. Also that's flat out called sinful but the racism is not. I wasn't taking this seriously, but now I'm definitely not.

Maybe I like Joe so much because he points out how stupid, redundant, and endless the wadering about and "mystery" seeking is. I honestly think I would have a better time if I skipped chapters 3 - 8 of every book. Leppard always has a recap through clunky dialog in chapter 9, so I would just skip the plots lines of going up and down stairs, going up and down mountains, and going back and forth between the two or three locations allowed for the book. You'd also think Mandie would do better detective work at this point, but I guess she has no reason to learn if some side character is always going to explain everything to her at the end.

Finally, it clicked during this read that Leppard is an okay dialogue writer if there are only two people in the scene. When she has three or more, it gets weird. This book was particularly bad because Mandie was surrounded by
several people for almost the entirety of the book. The "chorused" responses were rampant and weird. Many characters reply, "yes" in a way that is unnatural or just does fit quite right.

I'm so close to done with these shitty books. Please let me finish them before the end of May.

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like? These are fun, Christian-based mysteries that kids and parents can enjoy. I love that the reader can learn about the historical time period of the early 1900s too.

In this mystery, we find Mandie making some pretty rash decisions -- and not always good ones either. She even ends up spending the night on top of the roof! She can be a pretty silly girl at times, but still has a nose for solving mysteries -- and good friends that help her solve them.

[Olivia Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, the last Mandy book I ever read. Though to be fair, a book series that kept my attention for 35 books when I was that young is a something to stand up and take notice of. I was reading these when they were still being written and I looked forward to each new installation. Unfortunately, I grew out of them, which is why I never finished the series, but these books will always remain a fond memory of my childhood.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book there is a quilt that Mandie wants her Uncle Wirt to look at and tell her what all the patches represent to Cherokee people; however, the quilt goes missing! Find out who took it and why in this story. I thought that this story was a little better than some of the recent Mandie books that I have read recently.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

anything quilt related makes me think of my mom

[Christany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mandie,Joe,and Celia are preparing to leave for a trip to New York when Uncle Ned returns the quilt with the Cherokee Message. But Uncle Ned Refuses to tell Mandie what it means! Now she is more curious than ever.
Just when Mandie thinks she'll get the mystery solved,the quilt disappears!Someone doesn't want Mandie to know the truth......

[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.

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite part was when Mandie solved a mystery.the worst part was when her uncle lied to her.my favorite character was Mandie because she was the main character and liked to solve mysteries.the worst character was uncle Ned because he lied to Mandie for no reason.Auryn 9 years

[Partridge Public]

Leppard, Lois G. PB

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the quilt and how it related to her family