Blume, Judy, 1938-

Judy Blume, nee Sussman, was born February 12, 1938 in Elizabeth, NJ. Educated at New York University, she obtained her BS in 1961. She began to write in the 1960s, publishing her first book The One in the Middle is a Green Kangeroo in 1969. Ms Blume continued writing throughout the 1970s, focusing more on the preteen audience. She acheived a major success with her novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret in 1970. The book honestly and realistically portrayed the concerns, trials and anguish of early and preteen, and was tremendously popular with early and preteens. In the 1970s Ms. Blume published several other early and preteen novels, many of which tackled controversial subjects, including teenage sexuality in Forever (first young adult novel). Often criticized and censored by some critics, she is praised by others, and has become one of the most widely read of preteen writers by preteens. Ms. Blume has also written several humorous juvenile novels such as Superfudge which have endeared her to younger readers, as well as several adult novels and a work of non-fiction, Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You. Noted for her honest portrayal of adolescent concerns and realistic dialogue, Judy Blume remainds on of America's best loved and widely read authors.

From the guide to the Judy Blume Papers, 1970-1993, (University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections [clrc])

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