Judy Blume author page

Judy Blume biography

Judy Blume is an American author who spent her childhood in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she made up stories before writing them down as an adult. Her books for young people include Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Blubber, Just as Long as We’re Together and the five-book Fudge series.

Blume has also written adult novels, including Wifey, Summer Sisters, Smart Women and In the Unlikely Event. In the Unlikely Event was published by Vintage on 3 May 2016 in a 512-page edition.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing follows Peter Hatcher and his younger brother Fudge, and a Dutton Books for Young Readers edition was published on 30 September 2002 for readers aged 8–12. Double Fudge continued the Fudge books, with a Macmillan Children’s Books edition reviewed for readers aged 10–14.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret centres on Margaret Simon, an almost twelve-year-old who moves from New York City to Farbrook, New Jersey, and explores friendship, religion and puberty. The book marked its fiftieth year in 2020.

Blume received the 2004 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In 2017, she received the E. B. White Award for achievement in children’s literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Judy Blume teaching resources

• Judy Blume’s official On Writing page links to topic pages and a printable PDF covering notebooks, writing from the inside, style, rewriting, getting published, rejection, teachers and the writing life.
• Judy Blume’s official book-challenge guidance gives classroom, school and library steps for challenged or banned books, with links to the NCAC educator handbook and printable Unite Against Book Bans book résumés.
• Simon & Schuster’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret page provides an extract and reading group guide with discussion questions on Margaret’s move, puberty, friendship, religious identity, family expectations and personal change.
• Simon & Schuster’s Blubber page provides an excerpt and reading group guide with discussion questions on teasing, bullying, peer pressure, classroom behaviour, adult responses and why the novel has been challenged.
• Penguin Random House’s The Pain and the Great One teacher guide is a four-page Grades K-4 PDF with thematic discussion questions and curriculum links for Language Arts, Health/Safety, Social Studies/Science, Maths, PE, Art and vocabulary.
• The Reading Agency’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret film-club guide is a four-page PDF with an icebreaker quiz, discussion questions, a letter-to-my-younger-self activity, page-to-screen prompts and a Margaret Moments activity.