Judy Blume (born
Judy Sussmain on February 12 1938) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
. She has written many
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s for
childA child is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages. Blume's novels for children and teenagers were among the first to tackle such controversial matters as
racismRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
(
Iggie's HouseIggie's House is a 1970 young adult novel by Judy Blume. The story concerns Winnie, whose best friend Iggie has moved away. The new family moving into Iggie's house are the first African Americans in the neighborhood...
),
menstruationMenstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. Overt menstruation is found primarily in humans and close evolutionary relatives such as chimpanzees...
(
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.),
divorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
(
It's Not the End of the World,
Just As Long As We're TogetherJust as Long as We're Together is a young adult novel written by Judy Blume and published in 1987.The novel is narrated by Stephanie Hirsch, who has several changes in her life happening at the same time...
), bullying (
BlubberBlubber is a young adult novel by Judy Blume first published in 1974. The protagonist is Jill Brenner, a Pennsylvania fifth-grader who joins her classmates in ostracizing and bullying Linda, an awkward and slightly overweight girl...
),
masturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods...
(
DeenieDeenie is a 1973 young adult novel written by Judy Blume.-Plot summary:Deenie chronicles the life of thirteen-year-old Wilmadeene "Deenie" Fenner, whose mother is determined to have her become a model...
;
Then Again, Maybe I Won'tThen Again, Maybe I Won't is a 1971 young adult novel written by Judy Blume. Intended for pre-teens and teenagers, the novel deals with puberty from a male perspective as well as the other trials of growing up...
) and teen sex (
ForeverForever... is a 1975 novel by Judy Blume dealing with teenage sexuality. Because of the novel's content it has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 at number eight...
), and as such have been the source of controversy over the appropriateness of such topics for her middle school audience.
Judy Blume (born
Judy Sussmain on February 12 1938) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
. She has written many
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s for
childA child is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages. Blume's novels for children and teenagers were among the first to tackle such controversial matters as
racismRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
(
Iggie's HouseIggie's House is a 1970 young adult novel by Judy Blume. The story concerns Winnie, whose best friend Iggie has moved away. The new family moving into Iggie's house are the first African Americans in the neighborhood...
),
menstruationMenstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. Overt menstruation is found primarily in humans and close evolutionary relatives such as chimpanzees...
(
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.),
divorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
(
It's Not the End of the World,
Just As Long As We're TogetherJust as Long as We're Together is a young adult novel written by Judy Blume and published in 1987.The novel is narrated by Stephanie Hirsch, who has several changes in her life happening at the same time...
), bullying (
BlubberBlubber is a young adult novel by Judy Blume first published in 1974. The protagonist is Jill Brenner, a Pennsylvania fifth-grader who joins her classmates in ostracizing and bullying Linda, an awkward and slightly overweight girl...
),
masturbationMasturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals , often to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by other types of bodily contact , by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods...
(
DeenieDeenie is a 1973 young adult novel written by Judy Blume.-Plot summary:Deenie chronicles the life of thirteen-year-old Wilmadeene "Deenie" Fenner, whose mother is determined to have her become a model...
;
Then Again, Maybe I Won'tThen Again, Maybe I Won't is a 1971 young adult novel written by Judy Blume. Intended for pre-teens and teenagers, the novel deals with puberty from a male perspective as well as the other trials of growing up...
) and teen sex (
ForeverForever... is a 1975 novel by Judy Blume dealing with teenage sexuality. Because of the novel's content it has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 at number eight...
), and as such have been the source of controversy over the appropriateness of such topics for her middle school audience. She is married with two children and a
stepchildTraditionally, a stepfamily is the family one acquires when a parent enters a new marriage, whether the parent was widowed or divorced. For example, if one's father dies and one's mother marries another man, the new man is one's stepfather and vice versa...
.
Background
Judy Blume was born in
Elizabeth, New JerseyElizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 120,568, making it New Jersey's fourth largest city . The population of Elizabeth was 126,179 as of the Census Bureau's 2006 estimate...
, on February 12, 1938, to Rudolf and Ester Sussman. Blume moved to
Miami BeachMiami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on 26 March, 1915. It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the...
with her mother and older brother, David, when she was in third grade to aid his recovery from a kidney infection; her father remained in New Jersey to continue running his dentistry practice.
She married John Blume in 1959, having two children with him: a daughter, Randy Lee, and a son, Lawrence Andrew.
In 1961, Blume graduated with a
B.S.A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in
EducationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
from
New York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, an institution which would name her a Distinguished Alumna thirty-five years later. John and Judy Blume divorced in 1975 and she married and divorced once again before meeting George Cooper, whom she married in 1987; through this marriage, Blume gained a stepdaughter, Amanda. Blume and Cooper also have a grandson and currently reside in
Key WestKey West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys.Key West is politically within the limits of the city of Key West, Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city also occupies nearby islands and portions of nearby...
and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
.
Career
A lifelong avid reader, Blume first began writing when her children began preschool, and published her first book,
The One in the Middle Is the Green KangarooThe One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo is a children's book published in 1969, written by Judy Blume with illustrations by Amy Aitken; it was Blume's first published work....
, in 1969. The decade that followed proved to be her most prolific, with 13 more books being published, including many of her most well-known titles, such as
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (1970),
Tales of a Fourth Grade NothingTales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is a novel written by Judy Blume in 1972 with interior illustrations by Roy Doty. It is the first of the "Fudge books". It was followed by Superfudge, Fudge-A-Mania and, most recently, Double Fudge...
(1972),
Otherwise Known as Sheila the GreatOtherwise Known as Sheila the Great is a novel published in 1972 and written by Judy Blume.-Plot summary:Sheila Tubman's family is planning a vacation, where they leave New York City for the summer to live in suburban Tarrytown...
(1972), and
BlubberBlubber is a young adult novel by Judy Blume first published in 1974. The protagonist is Jill Brenner, a Pennsylvania fifth-grader who joins her classmates in ostracizing and bullying Linda, an awkward and slightly overweight girl...
(1974).
After publishing novels for young children and teens, Blume tackled another genre—adult reality and death. Her novels
WifeyWifey is a 1978 novel by Judy Blume. The story follows the life of bored 1970s New Jersey housewife, Sandy Pressman, who decides to reinvigorate her life by having an extramarital affair with an old high school boyfriend. This decision is complicated when she accidentally discovers evidence her...
and
Smart WomenSmart Women is a 1983 novel by Judy Blume that tells the story of a divorcee who falls for her friend's ex-husband....
shot to the top of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
best-seller list.
Wifey has become a bestseller, with over 4 million copies sold to date. Her latest and third adult novel
Summer SistersSummer Sisters is a 1998 novel by Judy Blume. It focuses on the life of two fictional characters, the girls Victoria Leonard and Caitlin Somers....
(1998) was widely praised and has sold more than 3 million copies. It spent 5 months on
The New York Times Bestseller list the hardcover reaching #3 and the paperback spent several weeks at #1.
Blume has won more than ninety literary awards. In 2004, she was awarded the
National Book FoundationThe National Book Foundation, founded 1988, is a non-profit American literary foundation established "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." It achieves this through sponsoring the National Book Award, including the medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters...
Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In 1996 the
American Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members....
selected Blume for its Margaret A. Edwards Award for her contributions to young adult literature. Blume received the
Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books. The head...
Living LegendsA Library of Congress Living Legend is someone recognized by the Library of Congress for his or her creative contributions to American life. Those honored include artists, writers, activists, film makers, physicians, entertainers, sports figures, and public servants.- Partial list of honorees :*...
award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her significant contributions to America's cultural heritage. Blume has also had several books to appear on the list of top all-time bestselling children’s books. Some of her books have become made for television movies, but she has had little success here.
She once drew some pictures for the book
The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo. She threatened to haunt her children if they were ever to publish the pictures after her death, saying "I have kept them in the closet. Colored them. With little colored pencils. Fastened them with little brass fasteners like I was still in school. I told my children that if they try to publish them after I die I will come back and haunt them."
Blume is also an advocate for teachers reading aloud to their students. She gets an uncountable amount of mail from students and adults whose teachers read aloud to them. Blume herself has specific memories of being read aloud to by her teachers. Blume believes that if teachers would take the time to introduce good books to students, perhaps there would not be as many reluctant readers.
Censorship
Though light in tone, many of Judy Blume’s books deal with difficult issues for children, including questioning the existence of Santa Claus, friendship, religion, divorce, body image, and sexuality. However, Blume states that she does not set out to tackle these issues when writing. She begins with a character, sometimes a character and a situation.
Fans of Blume's novels have praised her use of real-life settings, ambivalent endings and gentle humor. Her allegedly ambiguous treatment of moral issues made her at one time a regular target of school library censors and the
religious rightThe Christian right, also known as the Religious Right and the Evangelical Bloc, is a term used predominantly in the United States of America to describe a spectrum of right-wing Christian political and social movements and organizations characterized by their strong support of conservative social...
. Her books are still often challenged in school libraries; in fact,
Forever was the second most challenged book of 2005, according to the American Library Association. When her books first came under attack, she went through a variety of emotions: scared, frightened, alone, and angry. In an interview with Publisher’s Weekly, Blume states that the fear of censorship can be contagious. In another interview, Blume tells Judy Freeman, children’s literature consultant and author, that the sadness came from a sadness for children who may not be allowed to read banned books. She says, “It says to them, “There’s something in this book we don’t want you do know about, something we don’t want to discuss with you.’” She is recognized as one of the most banned children's authors in the United States which eventually led her to edit a collection of short stories about censorship (
Places I Never Meant to BePlaces I Never Meant to Be is a book edited by Judy Blume and first published in 1999. The book is a collection of short stories written by authors who have been censored or banned in some form in the United States...
). Despite ardent attempts at censorship Blume's young adult novels and books for children have sold 80 million copies world wide.
Perhaps one of her most censored and challenged books is
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (1970), and considered to deal with many “rite of passage” topics for young, pre-teen girls. This book is about an eleven year old girl, Margaret Simon, who is growing up with no organized religion (her father was Jewish and her mother Christian). However, she does seem to have a close relationship with God. She views Him as her friend and confidant, someone she talks to when she cannot seem to talk to anyone else about important issues in her life. When assigned a yearlong independent project at school, Margaret chooses to study people’s beliefs. This proves to be a weighty assignment for Margaret. In her quest to complete the project and find out more about other’s beliefs, Margaret discovers a lot about herself as well. Through serious yet sometimes comical situations, the book also deals with several other taboo topics: Margaret having to buy her very first bra; having her first period and having to deal with sanitary napkins; jealousy over other girls having more womanly figures than hers; and liking boys. Margaret learns to better understand and cope with these issues from talks with her mother, grandmother, friends, and of course, God. This book deals openly with sexuality and religion, which makes it one of the most challenged books in America. On the list of the top 100 most challenged books at the American Libraries Association,
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., falls at number sixty two. In several interviews, Blume tells the story of receiving a phone call from a woman who harassed her and called her a communist for writing this book. Blume jokes that she does not know whether she received this accusation was because of how the book dealt with religion or because of how it dealt with sexuality.
In her efforts to preserve for young readers intellectual freedom in literature, Blume joined the National Coalition Against Censorship, which comprises fifty not-for-profit organizations that come together to fight censorship. Judy Blume has also founded or is closely affiliated with several other organizations regarding children’s literature and censorship, including, The Kids Fund, The Author’s Guild, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Key West Literary Seminar. Blume is also the editor for a collection of short stories,
Places I Never Meant To Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers. Blume also tells Freeman that censorship is not getting any better. There has been a rise in challenged books over the years. Blume urges teachers and writers who feel passionately about censorships to speak out and share their voice on the subject.
Sources
- Judy Blume. (1999) Authors and Artists for Young Adults (Gale Research), 26: 7-17. Summarizes and extends 1990 article, with more emphasis on Blume's impact and censorship issues. By R. Garcia-Johnson.
- Judy Blume. (1990) Authors and Artists for Young Adults (Gale Research), 3: 25-36. Incorporates extensive passages from published interviews with Blume.
External links
- The Most Frequently Challenged Books from the American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members....