Cherry Ames In My Book Basket

 What's In My Book Basket?

Hello friends! Oh my goodness, I've got too many books! In fact, I have been spending some time off and on this week filling boxes with books I no longer am going to keep so I can trade them at our local used bookstore. It's amazing how quickly books can accumulate when one is a bibliophile, right?!

Luckily, however, I definitely have room on my bookshelves and, of course, in my book basket for the books I am sharing today. 

Do you remember the "Cherry Ames" series of books? This series was begun in 1943 and continued until 1968. These books are mysteries that involve dedicated nurse Cherry Ames. She has a different nursing assignment in each book and there is always a mystery happening that she manages to solve. 

There are 27 titles in this series with two different authors having written the books. Helen Wells began the series writing titles #1-9 and #17-27. In the middle of the series, Julie Trantham (who also authored the Trixie Belden series) wrote titles #10-16. 

These books were popular during the 40's, 50's and 60's with the late teen to early twenties set because they offered adventure for young women with a career minded focus. Many young women went into nursing careers, in part, because of reading these books and being exposed to nursing as a career. 

So, why am I, a woman in my late sixties, suddenly interested in these books?  Well, I actually never read these books when I was an older teen and when I saw some discussion of them on Facebook sites I got interested in what they were about. So, I ordered a couple on Amazon (yes, several titles have been re-issued and are available) and started reading. And I must tell you dear readers, I am officially hooked!

I find the books to be really interesting, light reads. They aren't at all what I would consider "juvenile" and are an interesting flashback to what life and nursing were like in the 40's and 50's and 60's. And, of course, I always love a mystery so there's that as well. 

I can remember doctor's offices similar to the ones described in these books in which the nurse (wearing a white uniform and nurses' cap!) sat at the desk in the reception part of the office and acted as secretary, scheduler, money taker and, of course, the nurse when the doctor needed her. There's a whole lot of nostalgia in the Cherry Ames series that I find appealing. 

Cherry is dedicated to her career and has so many varied and different opportunities for using her nursing skills. Just look at the titles and you can see she was up for anything!

1. Cherry Ames, Student Nurse (1943)
2. Cherry Ames, Senior Nurse (1944)
3. Cherry Ames, Army Nurse (1944)
4. Cherry Ames, Chief Nurse (1944)
5. Cherry Ames, Flight Nurse (1945)
6. Cherry Ames, Veterans' Nurse (1946)
7. Cherry Ames, Private Duty Nurse (1946)
8. Cherry Ames, Visiting Nurse (1947)
9. Cherry Ames, Cruise Nurse (1948)
10. Cherry Ames, at Spencer (1949)
11. Cherry Ames, Night Supervisor (1950)
12. Cherry Ames, Mountaineer Nurse (1951)
13. Cherry Ames, Clinic Nurse (1952)
14. Cherry Ames, Dude Ranch Nurse (1953)
15. Cherry Ames, Rest Home Nurse (1954)
16. Cherry Ames, Country Doctor's Nurse (1955)
17. Cherry Ames, Boarding School Nurse (1955)
18. Cherry Ames, Department Store Nurse (1956)
19. Cherry Ames, Camp Nurse^[5] (1957)
20. Cherry Ames, at Hilton Hospital^[6] (1959)
21. Cherry Ames, Island Nurse^[7] (1960)
22. Cherry Ames, Rural Nurse^[8] (1961)
23. Cherry Ames, Staff Nurse (1962)
24. Cherry Ames, Companion Nurse (1964)
25. Cherry Ames, Jungle Nurse (1965)
26. Cherry Ames: The Mystery in the Doctor's Office (1966)
27. Cherry Ames: Ski Nurse Mystery (1968)

      *(Titles from Wikipedia, Cherry Ames search)

While some critiques I read stated that the books gave an idealized version of nursing, it is still refreshing to read stories that are wholesome and adventurous and hold the reader's interest. It is important to keep in mind when these stories were written because from time to time particular phrases hit me as sexist or outdated ways of speaking in today's world. But this may also be found in other books written during these years. 

In doing research about Cherry Ames and in looking for some of the titles to purchase, I have discovered that there are many other adult fans of the Cherry Ames books. I intend to look for other titles in the series to read and add to my collection. Just as I have loved, and continue to love and read, the Betsy-Tacy series of books by Maud Hart Lovelace, I find the Cherry Ames series to be a nostalgic breath of fresh air to read and add to my book basket and book shelves.

How about you? Have you read the Cherry Ames series either in the past or currently? Do you enjoy nostalgic books that harken back to yesteryear? What books are in your reading basket right now?

I hope you will take a moment to share in the comments. I love hearing from you!

Until Next Time,

Debbie, This and That