The Mandie Series by Lois G Leppard

The Mandie books seem to be a popular children's series, and we are often asked about them. We chose the first two books in the series to do a review.

The content of the first book, Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, we felt might actually be disturbing for some children. In it Mandie's father dies and her stepmother remarries. She and the new stepfather then loan Mandie out to work for an undesirable family. Mandie runs away from this unhappy situation. An Indian friend of her deceased father's helps her to escape to her uncle’s home, but her uncle is away on a trip, and then pretends his own death. This may be beginning to sound to you like a pointless soap opera without any real value for the reader, or a string of situations that you do not want your child to think occur among sincere, decent people. If so, we confess, we must agree. But there is more.

Mandie has a boy friend. In fact, at the ripe old age of twelve, Mandie and her boyfriend become engaged. The boy's father is a doctor and comes to visit Mandie at her uncle's house. Since Mandie’s uncle is presumed dead, the boy’s father asks Mandie what her plans are for the future. It seems to us that there is something imbalanced about presenting all this to a young child in the first place. Even though Mandie has no guardian at the moment, we must question the logic of the author for developing the story in a way that implants the idea of a twelve-year-old making important decisions of life independently on her own without adult guidance. This to us seems that it will only serve to break down the bonds and trust that exist between parent and child through what the child is reading.

Obviously, the uncle was not really dead. However, the uncle marries Mandie's real mother. Then, the four of them, Mandie, her mother, the mother’s new husband (her uncle), and the boyfriend, take a trip and visit the grave of Mandie's father. The husband and wife comfort each other, and Mandie, crying grievously, is comforted by her boyfriend. This is another strange scene that we feel can only make a negative impression on a young reader. Here we have two twelve-year-olds next to these two adults, portrayed as comforting each other just like the two married adults. Should twelve-year-old friends really engage in activities on a man-and-wife basis? The story then resumes with the development of a love triangle and an expression of all the jealousy that Mandie is feeling, etc.

The second book, Mandie and the Cherokee Legend, in our opinion, is worse than the first book. The love story continues with a rerun on the love triangle from a new angle with another character. Probably the saddest item is found on page 65. Mandie’s mother questions her about something that had happened. The story says, “She thought, ‘I won't tell a lie. I just won't tell everything.’” She then answers her mother's questions very evasively telling half- truths which, of course, give her mother an entirely wrong impression of the issue, which, in effect, is lying. However, the main character, Mandie, just assured the young reader that it is not lying. It is a known fact that a reader tends to build rather close alliances with the protagonist of the story. We can only ask, “What does this teach the reader?” And, “Why?”

In our opinion, the Mandie books are dangerous for children. They implant the idea that children are as wise and capable as adults, and should be treated so, and allowed to make their own decisions. These characters waltz through this book making decisions without any adult guidance, and then the adult characters stereotypically add their blessing and cooperation to their plans. What does this all do for the reader? It tells him that the adults in his own life are not what they ought to be if they do not allow him to make his own decisions while they aid and abet his fancies.

To top it all off, there is a sprinkling of Bible verses in these books to add validation to them as “Christian” books. Mandie occasionally prays in some of these books. There are currently twenty-four titles in this series. If these two books are a representative sample, one can hardly imagine the amount of damage that can be done to a young life by the series, all in the name of wholesome literature, right under the noses of well-meaning Christian parents.