Saturday, May 6, 2023 | 2 a.m.
In her NPR interview, author Judy Blume says that, although her books have been banned from the beginning, “It never stopped me from writing.” Her 29 books sold more than 90 million copies. Her book “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” has just been adapted into a film. Like thousands of other fans, I can’t imagine growing up without her stories. They became a manual for my childhood.
My earliest memory of reading Blume is from age 8, at a Disney World waterpark. I’m lounging on a beach chair, my blonde hair wet and smelling of chlorine. Tired from swimming, I take a break with a book: “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.” It’s 1981.
Although my mom had been reading to me for years, this was the first chapter book that I had ever read on my own. I loved reading about Peter Hatcher, his mischievous younger brother, Fudge, and their escapades. From that moment on, I read every book Blume wrote, usually more than once. I wrote fan letters to her. I was a Judy Blume junkie.
Although I liked other authors, no one compared to Blume.
Maybe it was the way that she wrote about situations usually not spoken about during the late ’70s and early ’80s: divorce, sex, bullying, racism, death, alcoholism and puberty. Her characters seemed so real, like I could easily bump into them at my school. They were my friends, and they were me.
I was 8 when my parents separated (just four months after our Disney trip). I knew no one else with divorced parents. But then I read “It’s Not the End of the World,” where Karen tries to keep her parents from getting a divorce. I instantly felt less alone. In “Tiger Eyes,” Blume described a mother’s alcoholism, which I saw firsthand through my own father’s drinking.
When I got my first serious boyfriend, I remembered Michael and Kath in “Forever,” Blume’s book about sexuality and one of the American Library Association’s 100 most frequently challenged books. I can still picture the scene when Kath goes into New York City to get birth control pills. They eventually break up, but with the realization that life would go on. When my boyfriend and I broke up, I knew that, like Kath, I would survive.
After my parents’ divorce, my mom struggled with undiagnosed mental illness. I knew something wasn’t right but wasn’t sure what to do about it. I turned to books for entertainment and comfort.
In “Deenie,” Blume writes about scoliosis. In “Blubber,” she covers obesity and bullying. In “Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself,” set in 1947 Miami, Sally deals with family illness and life in a new town.
Although I didn’t share the same issues as the protagonists from those stories, their themes were universal: overcoming a difficult situation during childhood. Reading about their challenges and triumphs gave me hope that my story would also have a happy ending.
Years later, as a third-grade teacher, I read “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” to my class. It had been over 20 years since that day at Disney World, but the characters were just as timeless as ever. Who can’t relate to an annoying younger sibling?
My students — and I — couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. There were many parts that I had forgotten, especially the ending scene with Dribble, the pet turtle. (If you’ve read it, you understand.) After reading the last page aloud, the children sitting on the carpet at my feet, one of my most reluctant readers whispered to his friend, “I’ve gotta get that book!”
It didn’t matter that the book was written two decades before he was born or that our school was in Florida and the book is set in Manhattan. It didn’t matter that the character was of a different race and demographic. That’s the beauty of Judy Blume’s books, and all great literature. Her stories make you feel like she’s writing for just you.
Maybe that’s because she is.
Lisa Mazinas is an elementary reading specialist who writes on themes of loss, parenting, mental health and education. She wrote this for the Miami Herald.
