As for myself, I spent a good bit of January catching up with an old friend of mine, Cherry Ames. I wrote up a bit about the Cherry Ames series which I'd encourage you to pop off and read if you didn't get a chance to earlier. I have also reviewed the first title in the series, Cherry Ames, Student Nurse over at Reading to Know. (Click on the title to read my review of it.) Right here and right now I'd like to introduce you to Cherry as she had some adventures as a Rural Nurse!

In Cherry Ames, Rural Nurse we find Cherry accepting a job as a county nurse in southeastern Iowa. She's the only nurse in the entire county and finds herself in a possession of a new vehicle to help her make her house calls. (Yes, this is back in the good old days where you stayed home when you were sick and the doctor/nurse came to you!) She is working on becoming acquainted with the local doctor as well as the people in her new community when she discovers a good number of people falling ill after taking a "natural remedy" which was peddled to them. Cherry can't figure out who the peddler is or what the natural remedy is made of but she purposes to find out! She needs to find a sample of the product but the community is guarded and doesn't want to share the information. The Food & Drug Administration is called in, Cherry is disguising herself to meet peddlers in the woods, and there is even a secret tunnel from the Underground Railway involved in this particular medical mystery.

This particular title was penned by Julie Campell Tatham, authoress of the Trixie Belden series and is a post-war peacetime mystery story. If you haven't read Cherry Ames, you don't necessarily need to start at the beginning. It's nice to get a feel for the history of Cherry and where she has been, but each book stands alone because she has different jobs in every book. I really enjoyed Rural Nurse and it's probably my second favorite in the series, coming in after Private Duty Nurse. I absolutely love Cherry's adventures and heartily encourage you to check out a Cherry book or two during this challenge. I think you'll seriously be missing out if you don't!

Now it's your turn. What have YOU been reading as part of this challenge? I look forward to finding out!

Carrie thought of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden as her best friends growing up. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.

This Super Sleuth Kit arrived on my front porch a little bit ago and I hastily lit into it. My husband Jonathan thought I was so, I dunno (weird), for shoving the super sleuth black sunglasses on my head upon opening the box. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked incredulously.

What he didn't realize was that the black sunglasses on my face were equipped with "rear view mirrors" and that even though I "wasn't" looking at him — I was.

My son was eager to get his hands on the magnifying glass and began inspecting anything in sight. I stopped his 3 1/2 year old fingers short when he landed on the bottle of white fingerprint powder but I was still duly impressed. This kit is amazing! It's perfect for one child, or for multiple children to share together. There are two code wheels so that the ah hem, children, can write and crack their own codes. There are code files, teaching children how to hide secret messages with the use of a telephone, using a scytale, Morse code, a code grid, etc., etc., etc. They can learn how to write and make use of over 10 different codes to communicate something like, "The neighbor forgot to take out his trash last week. What do you think that means?" The possibilities are endless!

The kit also includes:

* Fingerprint files
* 3-D glasses
* A small pen light for sleuthing in darkness
* Those super, duper cool rear view mirror glasses
* Fingerprint dust & a duster/stickers to collect fingerprints and transport them elsewhere, if you'd like!
* A magnifying glass
* Code wheels
* A top secret file
* A small stamp pad
* Invisible ink marker set
* Information and files for creating and cracking codes

This is a fabulously inventive and imaginative Super Sleuth Kit/Detective Activity Kit and one I think any budding sleuth would thoroughly enjoy.

I'm delighted to inform you that Alex Toys has offered one such kit to one of our readers here at 5 Minutes for Books. I was tempted to make you crack a code in order to gain an entry into the contest but I'll spare you my rabid tendencies when it comes to the mystery challenge and let you just leave a comment, as always. (But doesn't that sound so boring!?) The contest will be open through IHEUDU1 38 (that's February 16th to you) and is open to U.S. Residents only.

In the meantime, I'll be seein' you…..or won't I? Bwaaahaha!

Carrie has apparently not recovered from her addiction to lurking "anonymously", seeking out all kinds of information – both the useful and the not. She blogs more productively about books at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.

That understanding comes a heck of a lot easier after finishing a book like Jordan Sonnenblick's new After Ever After. The story of what it's like to be an eighth-grade cancer survivor is told from the perspective of Jeffrey Alper, who was diagnosed with leukemia when he was four years old. Now that he's past the all important five year remission mark, he's free to live the life of a normal kid. Right? Unfortunately, it seems as if a new normal is established once you live the post-cancer life, (the after "ever after" part) and for Jeffrey this includes a number of attention and learning challenges as a result of the treatments he received. With a best friend who is also a childhood cancer survivor, and a new girl in his school (who just happens to be beautiful and completely distracting in science class), eighth grade is certainly going to be interesting.

I must admit that once I closed this book after reading the final pages, I needed a few moments alone to just 'cry it out.' While I'm still finding my way through YA literature, my gut tells me that this book has the perfect combination of an authentic adolescent narrator and a story line that simultaneously tackles serious, real-world issues while also nailing the little things that are so huge to teenagers. What I didn't realize before I read it, was that this is a sequel to Sonnenblick's 2006 YA novel Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, which tells the story of Jeffrey's older brother, whose own eighth grade year will always be remembered as the year his little brother got cancer. I can definitely say that this second book stands on its own, but I didn't hesitate to grab the previous book from the library shelf, and I'm finding it just as tender, funny, and touching as this one.

If you are already a fan of YA fiction, then the most concise thing I can say to you is this: go get this book. If YA isn't your genre of choice, but you enjoy a well-told story that evokes emotion and looks at the difficulties that life can bring through the eyes of a teenager, After Ever After is most worthy of your time. The press release that I got with this book also mentioned that the author's work has been praised by his former high school teacher… Frank McCourt. Wow.

After that kind of recognition, I realize that my application of a Five Star Reads label is less impressive, but I give it wholeheartedly.

Dawn loves that as her children are growing, her reading habits get to expand as well. Life, as she sees it, is chronicled on her blog, my thoughts exactly.

I found this book so informative that it's a new 5 Star Read.

If you'd like to win one of THREE copies (U.S. residents) please read my full review of This Momentary Marriage over at 5 Minutes for Mom. The winners iwill be announced in next Monday's book review column at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Melissa & her husband are nearing their 17th anniversary, but she still has much to learn about marriage. She resides in Virginia and blogs at Breath of Life.

I assumed that I was picking up a picture book that would share simple facts about the African American experience. I even thought I knew that the drinking gourd referred to an old-fashioned simple drinking vessel. Boy, was I wrong all around. The "drinking gourd" was actually another name for the Big Dipper, which pointed to the North star, which led the way to freedom. It was also a code word to help pass information via songs while on the Underground railroad.

Each page features a picture on a two-page spread, with a short verse about the letter's topic. Then the sidebar has several very meaty paragraphs about the event or item in question (like the drinking gourd information I shared above). I learned so much in this book about the African American experience, either in a specific time in history or throughout the ages about things from Buffalo Soldiers to Cowboys, the Great Migration to Jazz, Politicians to the Tuskegee Airmen, Universities to Writers.

Many of the books from Sleeping Bear Press (including D Is for Drinking Gourd) have a downloadable PDF teacher's guide, which includes reproducible worksheets, vocabulary sheets, a play scene and more. What an incredible resource for use at home or in the classroom.

I am so impressed with this book in particular, and I have a feeling that every single book in in every single alphabet series meets this high caliber (see Carrie's reviews on the Discover the World series and the States Alphabet series, and B is for Buckaroo: A Cowboy Alphabet). I am happy to award my first picture-book 5 Star Reads label to this book.

One of you (U.S. residents) can win this book along with Sleeping Bear Press's The Listeners (which we previously reviewed here and is linked to Dawn's review). Just leave a comment if you'd like to win. We'll announce the winner on February 17.

Check out some other past reviews of books we can also recommend for Black History Month.

J is for Jennifer who was jubilant to discover this delightful book. She jots joyfully at Snapshot.

Check out our current giveaways (we have a LOT this month). Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

February means that your local bookstores and libraries will have displays filled with pink and red hearts in honor of Valentine's Day, some books about the presidency in honor of President's Day, and books championing the African American experience in honor of Black History month.

I am glad for this six-week period of time when I am pulled out of my comfort zone and challenged to look at Black History –even if it's a painful reality — whether through non-fiction or by reading novels and picture books that share the African American experience.

One of my very favorite things about reading is expanding my borders. More than ever, this year I am reveling in the worlds to which literature introduces me, and making a concerted effort to expand my borders — this month with African American literature and history, but it won't end there. I hope to continue to explore the culture of those different from me, whether due to their race, class, country of origin or other defining experience (Throughout the year I'll be taking up S. Krishna's challenge to read South Asian Authors).

And so while I hope that you take the challenge this month to read some books on your own or share some picture books with your kids, I extend the challenge further. Don't read "black books" only in February. Add some color throughout your year.

There's an excellent reader's response about Black History Month posted at Black-Eyed Susan's. In it, she reminds us that that "Black History should encompass more than slavery." I agree wholeheartedly, and I would add Civil Rights to that as well.

I wanted to highlight some of our past reviews of books featuring African American characters that you might want to revisit. Yes, many of them deal with that awful time of slavery and the later years when African Americans had to fight for civil rights, but others also feature regular ol' people. . . who happen to be African American.

Throughout the month, we'll feature even more books (see "book bloggers get offers" above). We even have two giveaways up right now: Your choice of books from some African American Living Legends books selected by Hachette books, and two beautiful picture books from Sleeping Bear Press.

Books for children:
Yasmin Peace Series (for tweens)
The Listeners
Obama: The Historic Journey, Young Reader's Edition
Ruby and the Booker Boys
Freedom Walkers

Novels:
A Mercy
The Help
Sugar

Biography/Memoir:
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Jennifer Donovan also blogs at Snapshot.

Our list of Living Legends recognizes the accomplishments of public servants, artists, athletes, writers and more; people whose personal excellence has aided others, led the way, and continue to enrich our lives today:

Culture:
Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales

Faith
8 Steps to Create the Life You Want By Creflo A. Dollar
Points of Power By Yolanda Adams, Lavaille Lavette
Live Your Joy By Bonnie St. John

Fiction:
Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones
River, Cross My Heart by Breena Clarke
Cane River by Lalita Tademy

Medicine:
Brain Surgeon By Keith Black, Arnold Mann

Music
Big Man By Clarence Clemons , Don Reo
The B. B. King Treasures By B.B. King , Dick Waterman , Charles Sawyer
Patti's Pearls: Lessons in Living Genuinely, Joyfully, Generously by Patti LaBelle and Laura Randolph Lancaster

Public Service:
The American Journey of Barack Obama By The Editors of Life Magazine
Long Walk to Freedom By Nelson Mandela
In His Own Words By Nelson Mandela, Clinton

Sports:
On the Line By Serena Williams, Daniel Paisner
A Kind of Grace By Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Sonja Steptoe

Social Science/Psychology:
America Behind The Color Line By Henry Louis Gates , Jr.
What the Dog Saw By Malcolm Gladwell

Women:
Jewels By Michael Cunningham, Connie Briscoe
Mrs. O By Mary Tomer

If you'd like to win, click through to Hachette's African American History Month page, and then come back here and leave a comment about which book you'd most like to win (U.S. and Canadian readers are eligible).

We will announce three winners on February 17.

Check out our current giveaways (we have a LOT this month). Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

From the publisher’s description:

The past Janeal thought had burned away is rising from the ashes.

Years ago, the Gypsy Kumpania where Janeal Mikkado lived was attacked by outsiders. With her best friend about to be consumed by a fire, Janeal had two options: try to save her friend–at serious risk to her own life–or disappear with the million dollars that she had just discovered . . .

But the past is quickly coming back to haunt her. Both the best friend and the boyfriend that she was sure were dead have reappeared in her life, as has someone who knows about the money. There's a debt to be paid for the money she found, but there's an even greater debt she must face–and if the chaff isn't burned from her own heart, it will consume her.

For a thriller to be a thriller, supernatural or no, the reader must be not only caught up in the action and suspense but she must also be uncertain of how it will end, that is, right up until the end. Few things are as disappointing to this reader than figuring it all out well before she was supposed to. Burn is an interesting thrill ride because rather than shocking us with some big Aha! moment, Dekker and Healy carefully reveal the strange and mysterious conflict that is the heart of the novel’s premise, at first in cautious hints but later in outright storytelling, informing the reader well before the characters themselves understand. Thus the tension comes from wondering how it will all be resolved, a tension that swells to an exciting and gripping conclusion.

I read somewhere that Burn and the authors’ first collaboration, Kiss (which I have not read), represent a kinder, gentler (less unusual?) Ted Dekker and I think there’s some truth in that. Suspense, yes. Supernatural elements, yes. Thriller, yes. Hard to put down, yes. All of that with more character and relationship driven action and less shock factor. All in all, an enjoyable read.

Thanks to Amy at Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists for the review copy!

Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes….

This review, and others from the week, are linked to Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books. Link up your own, or see what other book bloggers are reviewing.

Committed is instead written like a project memoir (which I also like). In books such as the hilarious A.J. Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible or Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project (linked to my review), the author takes the approach that a journalist would — examining his or her own life and supplementing it with intensive research on the subject. Yes Gilbert shares her personal experiences, but mostly explains or reacts to other studies she's read on marriage — and divorce — or laws, or social commentary on the institution.

Ultimately, she's not trying to change the world (well, she might be trying to sway thoughts and laws about marriage and what it does to women) — she's telling her story. She's telling why she chose love, and why she had chosen to be unmarried and child-free before being forced to take another look at marriage.

If you are looking for information on the institution of marriage — particularly if you feel disenfranchised from it either by divorce, or singleness (by choice or circumstance), or exclusion (by the legal definition of marriage), then I can highly recommend this book to you. As she says in the subtitle "A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage," she is in fact looking at the institution of marriage from the viewpoint of one who does not believe that marriage has been a good thing — for her personally and also more broadly for women in general.

But for me, a happy-to-be-married woman who is (fairly) socially conservative, it is more of a flatline. I am glad I read it, because I do like Gilbert's style and matter-of-fact way of looking at life, but I don't need to read it again, and I'm not sure that it will stick with me as others (such as the ones I mentioned above) have.

Jennifer Donovan would love to be able to travel as widely as Elizabeth Gilbert has. She blogs at Snapshot, where she shares about some of the trips she's been able to take (but not quite as candidly as the memoirist does).

Then when Carrie reviewed the Mr. Men and Little Miss books, I reconsidered a little bit, but we still didn't start watching them. This week, I posted in my "I Read It!" post that we've recently enjoyed some of the books, and Kyle has been watching the show when he's home from school (which has been all too often with several morning delayed openings lately), so I decided to watch it with him.

I was wrong. While it's not educational per se, it does seem to hold to the spirit of the books. In the TV episodes, we see a whole cast of characters interacting together. The two I watched with Kyle featured Little Miss Calamity, who cracked me up, especially as she hung out (and thus played off of) Mr. Rude. Mr. Bump always cracks Kyle up, and Mr. Grumpy is sort of convicting (to this too-often-grumpy mommy). We've also enjoyed the antics of Little Miss Scary and the fears of Mr. Nervous as they play out on screen.

There are a few episodes available on DVD.

By the way, speaking of books (authors) and Boomerang, the kids and I were both delighted to catch the name of the director of a new Quick Draw McGraw cartoon short that they've been showing on that network: Mo Willems. FYI, he also worked on Suzie Kabloozie shorts for Sesame Street (which I remember from Amanda's Sesame Street days!), and was head writer on Codename: Kids Next Door, which I'll have to pay a bit more attention to the next time it's on.

Jennifer and her kids are all confirmed bookworms, but we really like TV and movies too. Find out more about what we're up to if we're not staring at a screen or burying our noses in books at Snapshot blog.

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I am happy to report that The Choice is not just another Amish story at all. Sure, there are characters struggling with the decision to stick with tradition or follow their hearts, but there is also suspense, involvement with Englishers, and a fast-paced story line. I can't tell you how many times I thought I had things figured out, and then the plot took another drastic turn.

The Choice is the story of Carrie Weaver, a young Amish girl, who plans to run away with her Amish boyfriend. When her life changes drastically, she makes decisions that will alter the course of her life forever. Through Carrie's story, Author Suzanne Fisher creates a heart-warming novel based on truth, forgiveness, and love that will please fans of Amish fiction.

If you are interested in The Choice, be sure to visit the Facebook Party and Book Bomb on Febrary 15th. There will be a live chat with Suzanne Fisher, as well as prizes and a trivia contest (the answers to the contest can be found on Suzanne Fisher's blog). Additionally, if you purchase a copy of The Choice on February 15th, you can enter to win a $25 gift certificate from amazon.com. Click HERE to find all the details of the party and the book bomb.

Lauren is a wife, a mother of two, and an avid reader. She blogs at Baseballs and Bows. Lauren thanks Litfuse Publishing for providing the review copy of this book.

I hadn't read any of the other books, and because it departs from the storyline, I didn't miss the previous events at all. I'll probably read some of the others in the series, which I get the sense are sort of like an Irish doctor version of James Herriot's English country vet novels, but one could easily read this book as a standalone.

In An Irish Country Girl It's Christmas, and Maureen "Kinky" Kincaid is telling the local children of Ballybucklebo the story of the Dove Shee that warned a man and ended up taking his life back on a St. Stephen's Day in the 1920s. At first this story seemed a bit long-winded to me, but it ended up being important backstory to Maureen's own life and love story.

The Irish dialect is used throughout the book, and first it seemed a bit cumbersome, but once I got used to it, it added so much depth to this sweet story of first love and life's aspirations.

We are pleased to be able to offer one reader the entire set of four novels in the Irish Country Village series by Patrick Taylor: An Irish Country Doctor, An Irish Country Village, An Irish Country Christmas, and the newest book An Irish Country Girl.

U.S. and Canadian shipping addresses are eligible, so leave a comment if you'd like to win. We'll announce the winner on February 10.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Check out that gorgeous locket in the ad in the left sidebar. Get $20 off any order at Emma Parker & Co. Jewelry with the code: BOOKLOVERS.

We have several winners to announce this week. From our Classics Bookclub giveaway that ran through the end of January:

Jane Eyre from Readable Classics goes to Katy at A Few More Pages (#15).

The winner of The Invitation to the Classics is Hope (#22).

You can still join in anytime! We'll be linking up our reviews and progress on March 29.

The winner of the Brainiac Secret Agent Activity Book is #9 – Sarita Rogers

You can also find Jennifer Donovan trying to find some of the luck of the Irish that her last name promises at her blog Snapshot.

Becoming Spiritually Beautiful is an encouragement for you to 'put aside the things which are behind you' (i.e., the things that happened in your past) and to look forward. It is a pat on the back to Christian women to point out the fact that the things that they personally believe about themselves aren't necessarily really true – rather it is what God thinks of us that really matters and should shape our own thoughts. But let's make this a bit more personal, shall we?

What Jaynes was saying in this book was, "Hey, Carrie, you know _______ that you believe about yourself? Well, my friend, God doesn't see you that way. Not at all. He sees His daughter, redeemed and restored." She said to me, "I know you haven't forgiven yourself for _____ but you're the last one holding out!" Now, I don't have it all together and I also don't think I look like I do. But it's easy for us to look around and think that we know who people are and we think that we know all of their capabilities and how successful they have the potential to be (or already are!). What is a little harder for us to see is how insecure most women are. Jaynes wants to address the insecurities with this book.

I have to say I don't really think of myself as an insecure person because I have a tremendous (and somewhat obnoxious) ability to block out a variety of negative thoughts that other people think of me. However, I find it dreadfully hard to let go of my own opinions of myself and that can cause problems. I am harsher with myself than with other people and we can all thank the Lord that that's the case but it's hard for me. Because I make it so. Therefore I appreciated Jaynes' talk about how we all have a veil up by which we see ourselves. When we look in the mirror are we more apt to think positively or negatively? If your answer is 'negatively' then this book might very well be for you.

Sharon Jaynes has a heart for women and it shows. At the same time, the cry of her heart was to have a house full of children. Instead, she found herself the mother of one son and this was a struggle for her. She has painfully come to the conclusion that God meant her to mother a great many more people through spiritual mentorship, than He planned for her to mother her own. Read this: She doesn't exactly have it all together herself. But she knows that she has believed some things that were not true about herself and she deals with those honestly.

Becoming Spiritually Beautiful is as much her personal struggle of acceptance in Christ as it became mine. I like the fact that she shared personal testimony, as well as the testimonies of other women. The book draws you in and hangs on to you for dear life as you read along. Another positive aspect of this book is the conclusion where she realizes that it's one thing to say that you are going to leave your past where it belongs – and it's quite another thing to actually allow that to happen. She offers some suggestions as how you might be able to take baby steps forward with your life.

As I was reading along, I couldn't help but think that a good companion title to this work would be C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. In a lot of ways, these two books walk hand-in-hand and can be better understood and processed in relationship with one another. I'm highly motivated and tempted to pull out my copy of Screwtape and give it a re-read about now!

Whether I do or don't get to Lewis, I'm glad for the time I spent with Jaynes. She's personable and approaches the subject matter in a healthy way without a bunch of hoopla thrown in (and without indulging in self pity) and I appreciated her balanced approach to dealing with a topic that I think effects all women in some form or fashion. Or, at least, it effects me!

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.

You can link up any review from the previous month that shares that information. If you don't share that information in your reviews, then write a new post for I Read It! and link back to the reviews as you add in the information.

It would be nice if you point your readers to this page so that they can check out the reviews that others link up as well.

For ease in surfing, leave the title of the book in the linky, along with your blog name.

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Find out about our upcoming community events at our Join In page. Coming soon:

• February 9: Children's Classic Mystery Challenge
• February 16: Kids' Picks
• February 23: What's on Your Nightstand
• March 30 (5th Tuesday): New Classics Bookclub — sign up anytime

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An abundance of children's literature exists on this theme, with information books about insects in good supply at any public library. A new one joins their ranks this year with the release of Amy S. Hansen's Bugs and Bugsicles. What makes this book stand out from the crowd is its focus on what happens to some insects when the winter season comes. With information on eight specific insects: the praying mantis, field cricket, dragonfly, ladybug, honeybee, pavement ant, monarch butterfly, and arctic woolly bear caterpillar, a wide variety of differences are explored and discussed. While some insects simply lay eggs and die before winter arrives, others take shelter to ride the cold days out. And the most fascinating insect in here, in my bug-loving opinion, has to be the arctic woolly bear caterpillar- you'll never believe how he survives.

The text here is informative and descriptive, introducing some scientific terms that will most likely be new to children, but it also maintains a storybook-like flow that makes it enjoyable to read. A respect and wonderment toward the insects is apparent in the book's tone, conveying excitement to readers about the incredible ways that different insects tackle the oncoming winter. (As in, this is no dry science textbook!) For the science project minded readers out there, two simple experiments are detailed in the back fo the book that demonstrate concepts described in the text. Robert C. Cray provides realistic illustrations that portray the detailed beauty of these insects and their habitats.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must state that I know the author, Amy Hansen, an active children's nonfiction writer and fellow elementary school mom in my town. I'm impressed by her efforts to rouse kids' interests in science, and I offer my praise of Bugs and Bugsicles with no hesitation (or connection to our friendship!). While this book is primarily geared toward older children, my own preschool aged little ones have greatly enjoyed looking through it and listening to an abbreviated reading. Perfect for budding entomologists and their parents alike!

Bugs and reading are both topics that have been frequently represented on Dawn's blog, my thoughts exactly, along with a fair share of cute kids and humor, if she does say so herself.