Judy Blume

“If you got rid of all the books people complained about, there would be no good books to read.” So say Author Judy Blume as she discusses the perils of banning books … ironically, more time than not the books kids like and want to read.

Author Judy Blume remembers loving the smell of books from as early as the age of 4. And because her parents were voracious readers and loved books, she developed a lifelong love of reading.

Because she writes realistic fiction, Author Judy Blume says her family and friends often assume that characters in her books are based on them. But more times than not, they are purely fictional.

No one can write if there is the censor on one shoulder and the critic on the other. Author Judy Blume explains why ultimately she returns to her writing for the sheer pleasure of being alone with just her characters for company.

Author Judy Blume grew up thinking she was the only one with stories rumbling around in her imagination. As she became a writer, she knew she wanted to write about real life, how it worked, and what made people tick. 

As with all of her books, Author Judy Blume says she loves the surprise of a book coming together. She knows where she’s starting and where she thinks she’s going, but she trusts that her characters will take her on the journey.

As a mother, author, and friend of teachers, Judy Blume knows that communicating through books with kids—and adults—can serve as an effective and loving way to breach difficult topics.

Author Judy Blume still remembers—and can sing—the ballads she wrote in a high school English class. Her teacher inspired her in ways that lasted a lifetime.

Author Judy Blume talks about the process of writing a book: getting that first tortuous draft on paper and then from there—as if creating a jigsaw puzzle from scratch by cutting out the pieces, fitting them together, sanding, then finally painting and polishing the puzzle—massaging each draft toward that final manuscript.

Author Judy Blume wanted nothing more than to pass on her love of reading to her children and grandchildren. She says that in this generation, with the draw of technology, kids seem to go through a period when electronics are more appealing than books, but with an early love of books—having had them read aloud, having had them them piled and shelved all around—no doubt they will come back to them.