Biography

Judy Blume Biography

Judy Blume – American Novelist b. 1938-

Judy Blume
Judy Blume

Few authors have equaled Judy Blume’s popularity, whether one judges by the sales of her books, all of which seem to stay in print ad infinitum, or by the number of awards chosen by children, primarily in statewide contests.

Her first two books, The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo (1969), which deals with the problems of being a middle child, and Iggie’s House (1970), the story of a black family that moves into a white neighborhood, were lightly humorous despite the fact that they dealt — realistically — with serious problems. Blume’s third book, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Marga­ret (1970), brought her national attention: some raves, some disparaging frowns. It was in this story that her readers first saw the author’s com­passion and sympathy and her conviction that the universal problems of adolescents should be reflected, with dignity and understanding, in the books they read.

“I think I write the kind of books,” she said in a statement for Something About the Author, “I would have liked to read when I was young.” This followed a comment about the fact that there were no books that mirrored her own in­terests and feelings when Blume was a child. Certainly eleven-year-old Margaret, in Are You There, God?, is a prototypical preteen, worried about how long it will be before she develops breasts and begins menstruating. She is, as the title indicates, devout—but she’s not sure ex­actly how she should worship, with one parent who’s Jewish and one who’s not. The religious conflict incurred no observable wrath; the in­clusion of sexual and physical concerns did up­set many adults. Girls tended to be delighted at finding topics about which almost all preteens are concerned.

The same kind of percipient concern for the problems of teenage boys appears in Then Again, Maybe I Won’t (1971). It describes thirteen-year-old Tony’s adjustment to change, his realization that his parents are social climbers, and his embarrassment at showing sexual arousal (he drapes his coat over his arm and holds it in front of him—just in case). While the book deals with specific problems, it addresses Tony’s growing sensitivity and maturity.

In Deenie (1973) and Blubber (1974) Judy Blume explored young people’s intense concern with their physical appearance and their reactions to their own physical limitations and those of oth­ers. Deenie’s mother wants her pretty twelve- year-old daughter to become a model, and she’s appalled when a test reveals the reason Deenie moves oddly, a peculiarity spotted by an agency interviewer. Deenie is also upset at learning that she has scoliosis and will have to wear a back brace for four years. She finds that her friends won’t desert her just because she’s “different,” a predictable and happy conclusion to the secret fears of being unpleasantly set apart.

The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo 1969
The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, First edition, 1969

But the au­thor is realistic about the fact that such accep­tance doesn’t always happen, as is evident in her next story. Blubber is painfully honest in show­ing how cruel children Can be to each other and in illustrating group dynamics. Linda is the fifth-grade scapegoat, even though she’s not the only fat girl in the class. One classmate is sympa­thetic, but she’s One of the few who stop perse­cuting Linda. In this book Judy Blume decided to in­clude the sometimes rough language that She heard fifth-graders using. But the author yielded to compromise: “bad” language stayed in if it contributed to plot or character development; otherwise it was removed.

Certainly Judy Blume’s most controversial book has been Forever... (1975). Those who objected were not impressed, as were many critics and parents (and young people), by the author’s ad­vocacy of sexual responsibility and her recogni­tion of developmental and physical needs. The characters Katherine and Michael are in love; their feelings are passionate and romantic, and they become lovers. Kath, who tells the story, feels wholly committed — but she finds, when she takes a summer camp job at her parents’ in­sistence, that she is attracted to another man. That’s the end of “forever.” Moralists felt that the lovers should have been punished; some of them felt that the book encouraged sexual activity. Other critics praised the candor of the story and its dialogue, characterization, and depiction Of familial relationships.

In two novels, Judy Blume’s protagonists are af­fected by their parents’ marital problems. In as Long as We’re Together (1987) Stephanie’s par­ents have begun a trial separation, and she’s therefore particularly vulnerable when she runs into a problem with peer relationships. Parental separation also Causes grief in It’s Not the End of the World (1972), but the main character here admits to herself that the hostility would still be there if Dad did come back. Always concerned about personal relationships, Blume has told a touching and credible story of loss, adjustment, and the slow healing process that can be helped by friendship, love, and patience in Tiger Eyes (1983), in which the father has been shot in a robbery at his convenience store.

While most of her books for teenage readers have moments of humor even when they deal with serious issues, it is in her books for younger readers of middle-grade fiction that Blume is at her amusing best. Many of the titles for this age range are linked: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972) is a chapter-by-chapter wail of comic despair from Peter, whose two-year-old brother, Fudge, is his greatest trial — for exam­ple, Fudge gulps down Peter’s turtle. The se­quels, Superfudge (1980) and Fudge-a-Mania (1990), are equally ebullient and equally popular. In the last, Peter’s parents share a summer house with the parents of Sheila, Peter’s archenemy and the protagonist of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (1972).

For Judy Blume fans, there is a special appeal in Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself (1977) be­cause it seems so clearly a reflection of the au­thor’s childhood. The wildly imaginative, highly histrionic heroine is both beguiling and amus­ing; the book’s episodic structure makes it less cohesive than most of Blume’s writing, but read­ers have been captivated. In Sally they see the seeds of the writer who has been their advocate, who has broken barriers of taboos about what subjects and what language are appropriate for children’s books. “Perceptive’, funny, sad, and honest,” One reviewer said.

It is all those aspects that have made Judy Blume loved and defended by her readers. Contributing to her own long record of defending the right to better access to in­formation on serious issues, she established The Kids Fund in 1981; the organization has made many grants each year to nonprofit organiza­tions for the development of programs that address such needs. It is for that courageous honesty that she was given the Carl Sandburg Freedom to Read Award in 1984 and the Ameri­can Civil Liberties Union Award in 1986.

Z.S.

Source: Children’s Books and their Creators, Anita Silvey.

Judy Blume Bibliography

Standalone Novels

  • Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970)
  • Iggie’s House (1970)Then Again, Maybe I Won’t (1971)
  • It’s Not the End of the World (1972)
  • Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (1972)
  • Deenie (1973)
  • Blubber (1974)Forever… (1975)
  • Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself (1977)Wifey (1978)
  • Tiger Eyes (1981)
  • Smart Women (1983)Summer Sisters (1998)
  • In the Unlikely Event (2015)

Fudge Books Series

  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972)
  • Superfudge (1980)
  • Fudge-a-Mania (1990)
  • Double Fudge (2002)

BFF Books Series

  • Just As Long As We’re Together (1986)
  • Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson (1993)

Pain & The Great One Books Series

  • Soupy Saturdays (2007)
  • Cool Zone (2008)
  • Going, Going, Gone (2008)
  • Friend or Fiend? (2008)

Picture Books

  • The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo {1969)
  • Freckle Juice (1978)

Short Stories

  • It’s Fine to Be Nine (2000)
  • It’s Heaven to Be Seven (2000)

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