Judy Blume, popular young-adult author, is born
On this day in 1938 best-selling author Judy Blume known for her childrens books and young-adult novels including Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Are You There God Its Me Margaret is born in Elizabeth New Jersey.Blumes books have been beloved by several generations of readers however the explicit subject matter of some of her novels for adolescents has made them a target for censors.Blume born Judy Sussman was raised in New Jersey and attended New York University graduating in 1961 with a degree in teaching.
She married while still a college student and had two children by the time she was in her mid-20s.In 1969 Blume published her first childrens book The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo.More fiction for grade-school-age readers followed including Freckle Juice (1971) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972) Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (1972) and Blubber (1974).
In 1970 Blume published the young-adult novel Are You There God Its Me Margaret.She went on to write other novels for adolescents including Then Again Maybe I Wont (1971) Deenie (1973) and Forever (1975).Blumes books which realistically address such topics as menstruation bullying divorce sexuality friendships family and body image gained legions of young fans however their content frequently led them to be banned by school libraries.
After her work was the target of an organized book-banning campaign in the 1980s Blume became an anti-censorship activist.In addition to writing for young readers Blume has penned novels for adults including Wifey (1978) Smart Women (1983) and Summer Sisters (1998) all of which were best-sellers.To date her books have sold over 80 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages.
