Cherry Ames Books: Inspiring a New Generation of Girls

Cherry Ames was the heroine in a series of books written by Helen Wells and Julie Tatham. The books were published from 1943-1968 and originally were created with the intention of encouraging women to enter nursing during World War II. Cherry was such a hit that teen girls (and women!) requested sequel after sequel. There were twenty seven titles published, plus a book on first aide, a series of seven girls' annuals published between 1957 and 1964, and a game.

Cherry, short for Charity, Ames is a young woman from Hilton, Illinois. She has a twin brother named Charlie and is eighteen years old as the series begins. She leaves the large, gracious Victorian home where she grew up to go to nursing school at Spencer.

While there she discovers that she has a penchant for getting involved and solving mysteries that rivals the queen of sleuthing, Nancy Drew. By the third book Cherry has enlisted in the Army to be a nurse and eventually becomes a flight nurse, stationed in England. Her duties there are to evacuate wounded soldiers, and solve a fascinating mystery. Is Mark Grainger and enemy spy?

With the war over Cherry goes on with her life, working in a veteran's hospital, then holding a series of fascinating jobs, far and near. Although boyfriends occasionally show up, Cherry never marries. This is surprising considering that she is, of course, beautiful!

Ski Nurse is the last book in the series, published in 1968. In it Cherry travels to Switzerland and gets involved in a smuggling and kidnapping mystery. The series ends rather abruptly with this book. We know that Cherry is heading back to the United States to take a position at a college hospital but that is all we know. The author is silent on the rest of Cherry's life.

The books are eagerly sought after by collectors. While some of the Cherry Ames books in mint condition have sold for hundreds of dollars the majority of them can be acquired for a reasonable price.

1943-1946

The original books were published with a solid red cover, with "Cherry Ames" and the title at the top, and the author (in script) at the bottom, printed in black. The book had a pictorial dust jacket illustrating some part of the particular story in that book. Several of the books were marked that they were printed on special wartime paper and this gives them a collectible edge.

1947-1951

These books were printed with a maroon cover and a picture of Cherry on the front. It was during this time that Julie Tatham took over the writing of the books. The first edition of book ten, Cherry Ames at Spencer, was incorrectly stamped with Helen Wells' name and then covered over with a tape that said the correct author, Julie Tatham. This little faux pas adds value to this particular edition.

1952-1961

This is the most familiar design of the book for most collectors and the one easiest to find. Clinic nurse was the first to be published in this design. The cover of the book was reddish brown tweed with a boxed picture of Cherry Ames in black on the cover. The dust jacket was, as were the previous jackets, a full color illustration.

1962-1968

The books published during this period had covers with the full color illustrations that the dust jackets had sported all along. There have been some re-releases of certain titles in paperback over the years but the books are affordable enough that collecting the hardback version is better.

The Cherry Ames Game was released in 1959 by Parker Brothers. It came with six wooden playing pieces and instructions. Later on the game was sold with plastic playing pieces. There is a fascinating rumor that one of the cards in the original game had a reference to obstetrics that was removed from the following editions of the game. It seems that obstetrics was an inappropriate topic in 1959. Obviously, versions of the game that have that card would be worth more than versions without.

Collecting aside, Cherry Ames books are still enjoyed by girls everywhere. They are sweet stories from another time, full of daring and adventure. The high moral values, ethics, and fictional role model encourage girls to be the very best they can be. The messages of getting involved, giving back, and helping others is one that crosses decades.

So many of the "modern" series for children and young adults are full of dark humor, questionable ethics, and other nasties. Parents often need to screen the books that come home from the library. If you want a book that encourages strong values for girls, with an intriguing plot and a good vocabulary, the Cherry Ames books might be an excellent choice.