Judy Blume

Judy Blume
Blume smiling while signing a book
Blume at a book signing in 2009
BornJudith Sussman
(1938-02-12) February 12, 1938 (age 86)
Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationWriter, teacher
EducationBoston University
New York University (BA)
Period1969–2020
GenreRealist young adult novels, children's books
Notable works
Notable awardsMargaret Edwards Award etc
1996
Spouse
John M. Blume
​
​
(m. 1959; div. 1975)​
Thomas A. Kitchens
​
​
(m. 1975; div. 1978)​
George Cooper
​
(m. 1987)​
Website
judyblume.com

Judith Blume (née Sussman; born February 12, 1938) is an American writer of children's, young adult, and adult fiction.[1] Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 26 novels.[2] Among her best-known works are Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (1970), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), Deenie (1973), and Blubber (1974). Blume's books have significantly contributed to children's and young adult literature.[3] She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.[4]

Blume was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and graduated from New York University in 1961.[5] As an attempt to entertain herself in her role as a homemaker, Blume began writing stories.[6] Blume was one of the first young adult authors to write novels focused on such controversial topics as masturbation, menstruation, teen sex, birth control, and death.[7][8] Her novels have sold over 82 million copies and have been translated into 32 languages.[9]

Blume has won many awards for her writing, including the American Library Association (ALA)'s Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1996 for her contributions to young adult literature.[10] She was recognized as a Library of Congress Living Legend and awarded the 2004 National Book Foundation medal for distinguished contribution to American letters.[8][10]

Blume's novels are popular and widely admired.[11] They are praised for teaching children and young adults about their bodies.[11] However, the mature topics in Blume's books have generated criticism[12][13] and controversy.[11][13] The ALA has named Blume as one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century.[14] There have been several film adaptations of Blume's novels,[15] including Tiger Eyes, released in 2012 with Willa Holland starring as Davey,[15] and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., released in 2023. A large collection of her papers are held at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University.[16]

  1. ^ Phillips, Leah. "Judy Blume (1938–)". The Literary Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "Judy Blume | American author". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Holmes, Anna (March 22, 2012). "Judy Blume's Magnificent Girls". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  4. ^ "Time 100". Time. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "Judy Blume: Biography, Facts, Books & Banned Books". study.com. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "Judy Blume (1938–)." The American Women's Almanac: 500 Years of Making History, Deborah G. Felder, Visible Ink Press, 1st edition, 2020. Accessed 10 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Pen Pals with Judy Blume in conversation with Nancy Pearl". Friends of the Hennepin County Library. 2015. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "1996 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association. 1996. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  9. ^ Pryor, Megan. "Judy Blume: Biography, Facts, Books & Banned Books". Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Flood, Alison (July 11, 2014). "Judy Blume: 'I thought, this is America: we don't ban books. But then we did'". The Guardian. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  11. ^ a b c Judy Blume: Banned often, but Widely Beloved. NPR, Washington, D.C., 2011. ProQuest 906292501
  12. ^ The Genius of Judy
  13. ^ a b Rosenfield, Kat (August 3, 2024). "Teenage Girls Need Judy Blume More Than Ever". Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.

    The Genius of Judy, a new book by Rachelle Bergstein, suggests that I was not alone in believing that Judy Blume was the ultimate source of knowledge on all things teenage girl. "Her characters and stories were more than just entertainment," Bergstein writes. "They were a road map."

    Blume's stories offered a powerful counterpoint to a culture that sought to limit women's choices by surrounding their bodies and sexuality with shame and stigma—a culture that treated the lives of teenage girls as frivolous and insignificant. She spoke frankly and authentically not only of girls' struggles but also, crucially, of their survival. She offered a glimpse of how beautiful life could be on the other side.

    [...]

    Predictably, contemporary critics have derided Blume's stories for their heteronormativity—but this is just another way of saying that they depict heterosexuality as the norm, which. . . well, isn't it? This may be one of the stranger side effects of our cultural Great Awokening: stories about the type of relationships that teenage girls are most likely to actually desire are, if not subversive, then at once politically incorrect and profoundly uncool.

    [...]

    The magic of Blume's work is that she not only gives her characters the freedom to be flawed without being irredeemable but takes for granted their resilience when it comes to navigating disappointment, social pressure, heartbreak. We know that Michael will be okay eventually—as will Katherine, who has the maturity to give him a little grace. In somewhat tediously painting Blume as a warrior against the political right, Bergstein misses a crucial point: Blume rejects the progressive infantilization of women just as surely as she rejected the slut-shaming from the conservative set. Her stories stand in direct opposition to a world in which the path to womanhood is depicted as a minefield, a misery, a time of alienation from your changing body coupled with the horror of being desired by predatory men.

    In the world of Judy Blume, being a woman is pretty cool, actually. Getting your period is something to look forward to. Sex is not without risk, but it's also a lot of fun—and falling in love, even more so. It's fine and normal to desire men, and also, men are people with feelings. Regret is survivable, and even valuable, in helping you to make better choices next time.

    This is the actual genius of Judy. In a culture defined by the pursuit of perpetual adolescence, the girls in Blume's stories are nothing less than revolutionary: they are excited to grow up.
  14. ^ "Most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century". American Library Association. March 26, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Judy Blume Hits the Big Screen with 'Tiger Eyes' Adaptation. NPR, Washington, D.C., 2013. ProQuest 1365727965
  16. ^ "Collection: Judy Blume papers | Archives at Yale". archives.yale.edu. Retrieved September 30, 2023.