Judy Blume
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Judy Blume | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Judy Sussman February 12, 1938 Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| Occupation | author, novels and short stories |
| Genres | Children's books, Young adult, novels |
| Notable work(s) | Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret |
Judy Blume (born Judy Sussman on February 12, 1938) is a popular American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults. She was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey.[1] Blume received a B.S. degree in Education in 1961 from New York University and started writing while living in the New Jersey communities of Scotch Plains and Plainfield.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Career
Blume's novels for elementary 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), bullying (Blubber), masturbation (Deenie; Then Again, Maybe I Won't) 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. 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. She is recognized as one of the most banned children's authors in the United States[3] which eventually led her to edit a collection of short stories about censorship (Places I Never Meant to Be: Original Stories by Censored Writers). Despite ardent attempts at censorship Blume's young adult novels and books for children have sold 65 million copies world wide.[4]
After publishing novels for young children and teens, Blume tackled another genre—adult fiction. Her novels Wifey and Smart Women shot to the top of The New York Times best-seller list. Wifey has become a bestseller, with over 4 million copies sold to date. Her latest and third adult novel Summer Sisters (1998) was widely praised and has sold more than 3 million copies.[5] It spent 5 months on The New York Times Bestseller list[6] the hardcover reaching #3[7] and the paperback spent several weeks at #1.[8][9]
In 2004, Blume was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.[10] In 1996 the American Library Association selected Blume for its Margaret A. Edwards Award for her contributions to young adult literature.[11] 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.
[edit] Bibliography
- The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo (Bradbury Press, 1969, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-87888-182-4 ISBN 0-02-711055-9 ISBN 0-440-46731-4
- Iggie's House (Bradbury Press, 1970, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-13-450858-0 ISBN 0-440-44062-9
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (Bradbury Press, 1970, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-13-045856-2 ISBN 0-02-710991-7 ISBN 0-440-40419-3
- Then Again, Maybe I Won't (Bradbury Press, 1971, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-87888-035-6 ISBN 0-8161-4417-6
- Freckle Juice (Four Winds Press, 1971, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-02-711690-5 ISBN 0-440-42813-0
- It's Not the End of the World (Bradbury Press, 1972, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-87888-042-9
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Dutton, 1972, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-525-40720-0 ISBN 1-55736-015-4 ISBN 0-14-230231-7
- Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (Dutton, 1972, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-525-36455-2 ISBN 0-14-230228-7 ISBN 0-14-240099-8
- Deenie (Bradbury, 1973, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-87888-061-5 ISBN 0-525-46926-5
- The Pain and the Great One (Bradbury, 1974, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-02-711100-8
- Blubber (Bradbury, 1974, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-87888-072-0 ISBN 1-55736-025-1 ISBN 0-440-40707-9 ISBN 0-7862-7307-0
- Forever (Bradbury, 1975, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-87888-079-8
- Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself (Bradbury, 1977, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-87888-113-1 ISBN 0-8161-4448-6 ISBN 0-440-48253-4
- Wifey (Putnam, 1978, Paperback Pocket Books) ISBN 0-399-12241-9 ISBN 0-399-15237-7
- Superfudge (Dutton, 1980, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-525-40522-4 ISBN 1-55736-014-6 ISBN 0-14-230229-5
- Tiger Eyes (Bradbury, 1981, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-87888-185-9 ISBN 1-55736-067-7
- The Judy Blume Diary (Dell, 1981) ISBN 0-440-44266-4
- Smart Women (Putnam, 1983, Paperback Pocket Books) ISBN 0-399-12840-9 ISBN 0-399-15236-9
- Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You (Putnam, 1986, Paperback Pocket Books) ISBN 0-399-13129-9
- Just as Long as We're Together (Orchard Books, 1987, Paperback Dell) ISBN 1-55736-046-4 ISBN 0-531-05729-1 ISBN 0-531-08329-2
- Fudge-a-Mania (Dutton, 1990, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-525-44672-9 ISBN 0-14-230230-9
- Here's to You, Rachel Robinson (Orchard Books, 1993, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-531-06801-3 ISBN 0-531-08651-8
- Summer Sisters (Delacorte Books, 1998, Paperback Dell) ISBN 0-385-32405-7
- Places I Never Meant to Be [edited by Judy Blume] (Simon & Schuster, 1999) ISBN 0-689-82034-8
- Double Fudge (Dutton, 2002, Paperback Penguin 2003) ISBN 0-525-46926-5
[edit] 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. Great author
[edit] References
- ^ Diskin, Colleen. "Mother Load: Author's beating the ban", The Record (Bergen County), October 6, 2007. Accessed October 6, 2007. "Blume, who grew up in Elizabeth, told me she meets mothers all the time who say they want to pass her books down to their kids."
- ^ Goldblatt, Jennifer. "Blume's Day", The New York Times, November 14, 2004. Accessed February 5, 2008. "It wasn't until after Ms. Blume had gotten her bachelor's degree in education from New York University in 1961, was married and raising her son, Larry, and her daughter, Randy, and living in Plainfield and later Scotch Plains, that she started to commit her stories and characters to paper, cramming writing sessions in while the children were at preschool and at play."
- ^ Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read from SDS Universe
- ^ Judy Blume Release Third Adult Novel from CNN
- ^ Judy Blume: Mating IQ from Psychology Today
- ^ Early Blumers:In defense of censorship from National Review Online
- ^ Best Sellers: August 16, 1998 from The New York Times
- ^ Paperback Best Sellers: May 30, 1999 from The New York Times
- ^ Paperback Best Sellers: June 12, 1999 from The New York Times
- ^ Literary Prize for Judy Blume, Confidante to Teenagers from The New York Times
- ^ Blume's award page on the American Library Association website
[edit] External links
- Judy Blume's personal website
- 1984, 1986 interviews with Judy Blume by Don Swaim at Wired for Books.
- The Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2006 from the American Library Association
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Blume, Judy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American author of novels and short stories |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1938 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
