Judy Blume Forever:
The Perfect Blume Book at Every Age
by Devon A. Corneal
This week I went to the library and checked out all the Judy Blume books on the shelves. Predictably, someone had beaten me to Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. It was like being back in school, except in the interim someone changed all the cover art and I didn’t have to hide my copy of Forever underneath my desk. I rediscovered Dribble and Superfudge, cringed my way through Blubber, sympathized with Sheila the Great, and got a little nauseous thinking about pickle juice.
For nearly half a century, Judy Blume has been the author kids go to for honest stories about families, school, friendship, puberty, racism, death, sex, and, of course, freckles. Blume changed the landscape of children’s and teen literature by telling truthful stories about the topics other authors avoided, and did so with subtlety and compassion. There aren’t villains or heroes in her books, not really, just people grappling with real life and all its messy complexity. When she finished with stories for kids, she wrote books for adults because it turns out grown-ups have messy lives too. If you or your children haven’t yet discovered the magic that lies between the covers of her timeless stories, we’ve made it easy for you. Check out our “Best of Blume” list below and get reading.
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Growing Readers
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The Pain and the Great One
I most often associate Judy Blume with adolescent angst and elementary school drama, but The Pain and The Great One is lighter fare perfect for younger readers. If you’ve ever had an annoying brother or irritating sister, you’ll appreciate the humor and gentle reminders Blume packs into this two-sided tale.
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The One in the Middle Is The Green Kangaroo
Freddie isn’t happy being a middle child. He’s neglected, forgotten, unnoticed. Until he talks his way into the school play, that is. But is he ready to be the green kangaroo?
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Freckle Juice
There is nothing Andrew won’t do to get freckles. Nicky has hundreds, and Andrew wants them. He’s even willing to pay Sharon fifty cents for her secret (and disgusting) recipe for freckle juice. But when Sharon’s concoction doesn’t work, what is Andrew going to do?
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Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Available from:Poor Peter Hatcher. His little brother Fudge is making his life miserable. Fudge throws temper tantrums, plays with his food, and steals Peter’s pets. Peter hopes things will change when Fudge grows-up, but he doesn’t realize things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. This book is for every parent raising a, um, challenging child, and every older sibling enduring the impossible.
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Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
Available from:Sheila is having a rough summer. Spending the school break at a rented home isn’t what she expected at all. She’s in a boy’s bedroom, she has to take swimming lessons, and there’s a dog. Not that she’s afraid of dogs, or anything.
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Tween
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Blubber
In this wrenching story of bullying, Blume shows the ugly side of teasing gone too far and the consequences of complacency in the face of cruelty. When Jill’s friends begin bullying a classmate, Jill joins in. But it isn’t long before she realizes that bullies are never satisfied with one target.
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Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
An entire generation of girls learned about menstruation, training bras, and boys from Blume’s memorable protagonist Margaret Simon. But even more central to the story is Margaret’s search for religious identity. The half-Catholic, half-Jewish, 12-year-old Margaret has a lot to deal with and Blume guides readers through her journey with equal parts humor and respect.
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Deenie
Deenie could be a model (according to her mother) or a cheerleader (according to Deenie). Or she could hang with her friends and talk about her crushes like most seventh grade girls. Unfortunately, Deenie is diagnosed with scoliosis, and the treatment means she’ll live in brace from her neck to her hip for four years. Suddenly, Deenie’s world unravels and she has to decide who she is when everything has changed.
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Iggie’s House
Winnie can’t wait to meet the new family moving into her best friend Iggie’s house. Unfortunately, when the new neighbors arrive, Winnie is the only one who greets them with enthusiasm. Blume tackles racism head on in this story of a young girl’s discovery that her openness to change isn’t universal.
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Teen
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Tiger Eyes
I love all of Judy Blume’s books, but I think she is her most masterful when she’s writing for adolescents. She has a way of describing the challenges and barrage of emotions that young people on the cusp of adulthood face without veering into melodrama or platitudes. Davey Wexler’s father has just been murdered and now Davey’s mother has taken her and her little brother to live with an aunt in another state. Davey is conflicted, lost, and angry until she meets a young man who helps her find her way back to herself.
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Forever
I confess, I didn’t remember much about this book except for a “character” named Ralph and an unfortunate event with cologne. That may be because I had to share a single copy with my entire class and we all read it surreptitiously under our desks. Sex was definitely not on the syllabus in my school district. Frank, funny, and insightful, Blume is a master at writing about the topics everyone else thought were taboo.
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Grown-Ups
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Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You
When you become a bestselling author of books for kids and adolescents, those kids and adolescents sometimes write to you. And ask questions. And look for guidance. And share secrets. When that happened to Judy Blume, she took the letters (this is before email, remember!) and published them as a book for adults, hoping that parents might be able to see their children in a new light. It’s out of print, but worth finding a used copy if you can.
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Wifey
Available from:Sandy Pressman is bored. Bored. Bored. So while her kids are away at camp for the summer, she decides that she needs a little fun too. While her kids do watersports, Sandy takes up extramarital affairs. Before Fifty Shades of Grey, there was Wifey.
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Summer Sisters
Available from:Tracing the friendship of two women from adolescence through adulthood, Blume weaves a captivating tale of two disparate lives and how a relationship ebbs and flows through the moments of a lifetime.
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In the Unlikely Event
Available from:Blume’s latest adult novel centers around real-life events from her childhood when three planes crashed in and around Elizabeth, New Jersey. Three families must navigate the fear and fall-out of the bizarre circumstances, giving Blume a multigenerational canvas upon which to do what she does best — illuminate the complexities of our relationships to one another.
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