Judy Blume
Judy Blume (born
February 12,
1938) is an
American author. She has written many extremely popular
novels for
children and
young adults. Blume is of
Jewish descent.
Blume's novels for middle schoolers were among the first to tackle such controversial matters as
racism (
Iggie's House),
menstruation (
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret),
divorce (
It's Not the End of the World),
masturbation (
Deenie) and
teenage sexuality (
Forever). 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 right. She is recognized as one of the most banned children's authors in the United States
[SDSUniverse: Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read] which eventually led her to edit a collection of short stories about censorship (
Places I Never Meant to Be: Original Stories by Censored Writers).
After publishing novels for young children and teens, Blume tackled another genre, that of adult fiction. Her novels
Wifey and
Smart Women met with luke-warm receptions. But her breakout hit
Summer Sisters (1998) was widely praised and sold more than 3 million copies.
In
2004, Blume was awarded the
National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In
1996 the
American Library Association selected Blume for its
Margaret A. Edwards Award for her contributions to young adult literature [
1]. Blume received the
Library of Congress Living Legends award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her significant contributions to America's cultural heritage.
The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo (Bradbury Press,
1969, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0878881824 ISBN 0027110559 ISBN 0440467314
Iggie's House (Bradbury Press,
1970, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0134508580 ISBN 0440440629
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (Bradbury Press, 1970, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0130458562 ISBN 0027109917 ISBN 0440404193
Then Again, Maybe I Won't (Bradbury Press,
1971, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0878880356 ISBN 0816144176
Freckle Juice (Four Winds Press, 1971, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0027116905 ISBN 0440428130
It's Not the End of the World (Bradbury Press,
1972, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0878880429
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Dutton, 1972, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0525407200 ISBN 1557360154 ISBN 0142302317
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (Dutton, 1972, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0525364552 ISBN 0142302287 ISBN 0142400998
Deenie (Bradbury,
1973, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0878880615 ISBN 0525469265
The Pain and the Great One (Bradbury,
1974, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0027111008
Blubber (Bradbury,
1974, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0878880720 ISBN 1557360251 ISBN 0440407079 ISBN 0786273070
Forever (Bradbury,
1975, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0878880798
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself (Bradbury,
1977, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0878881131 ISBN 0816144486 ISBN 0440482534
Wifey (Putnam,
1978, Paperback Pocket Books) ISBN 0399122419 ISBN 0399152377
Superfudge (Dutton,
1980, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0525405224 ISBN 1557360146 ISBN 0142302295
Tiger Eyes (Bradbury,
1981, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0878881859 ISBN 1557360677
The Judy Blume Diary (Dell, 1981) ISBN 0440442664
Smart Women (Putnam,
1983, Paperback Pocket Books) ISBN 0399128409 ISBN 0399152369
Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You (Putnam,
1986, Paperback Pocket Books) ISBN 0399131299
Just as Long as We're Together (Orchard Books,
1987, Paperback Dell) ISBN 1557360464 ISBN 0531057291 ISBN 0531083292
Fudge-a-Mania (Dutton,
1990, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0525446729 ISBN 0142302309
Here's to You, Rachel Robinson (Orchard Books,
1993, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0531068013 ISBN 0531086518
Summer Sisters (Delacorte Books,
1998, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0385324057
Places I Never Meant to Be [edited by Judy Blume] (Simon & Schuster,
1999) ISBN 0689820348
Double Fudge (Dutton, 2002, Paperback Penguin
2003) ISBN 0525469265
*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.
*
Judy Blume's personal website*
Two audio interviews of Judy Blume, 1984 - 20 min 38 s and 1986 - 21 min 14 s, RealAudio
