Happy Birthday, Judy Blume! 5 Ways You Changed Our Childhood
Everyone has a favorite Judy Blume book or — at the very least — a memory attached to one. Although Blume’s real-life tales of teen sex, puberty, divorce, and friendship made her a hit in the pre-Internet world, the beloved author continues to influence her fans through Twitter (her bio: “Are You There, Twitter? It’s Me, Judy.”), Reddit, and her upcoming novel In the Unlikely Event. In honor of her 77th birthday on Thursday, here are Yahoo Parenting’s favorite Judy Blume memories.
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"When I was in sixth grade, I read Forever and I was confused about why, whenever Katherine and Michael had sex, he would say “I’m coming! I’m coming!” I approached my mom one evening as she was folding laundry and said, “Mom, what does ‘I’m coming’ mean?” She froze and said in a very measured tone, “It means the man has reached his sexual climax. What is that book?” I was more baffled than ever, but knew not to press the issue. I said, “Oh, okay, thanks,” and slunk away. I’m impressed that she didn’t take the book away.”—Beth Greenfield
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"In middle school, I read Tiger Eyes because the girl on the cover had amazing hair. I thought the main character, Davey Wexler, was the coolest girl— she was from New Jersey (like me) and wore “Charlie” perfume, which sounded sexy and mysterious. Fast forward to my twenties and the start of my career in women’s magazines. I was writing a story on the history of fragrance and learned that Charlie was a cheap drugstore brand. My bubble had truly been burst.” —Julie Giusti
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"In Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Judy Blume describes an English teacher with breasts the size of tennis balls. I said to myself, “Ok, that is my goal.” I was a flat-chested middle school girl who just wanted her tennis balls.” —Lindsay Powers
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"While it’s not my childhood memory, it will be one for my daughter: When I was seven-months pregnant, I saw Judy Blume speak in Chicago. I brought some old, tattered copies of her books — Are You There God and Superfudge — for her to sign. I also asked her to sign one for Maggie, my unborn baby. I said, “Hi Judy Blume, you are now the only person who knows the name of my unborn baby. Don’t tweet it!” Now I have a book that with the inscription “Welcome Maggie! Love Judy Blume.” It’s pretty awesome. —Rachel Bertsche
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"After reading Blubber, I became aware of how truly mean kids could behave. In the story, an overweight girl named Linda is teased and bullied for her size. The ending was sad — none of the bullies get punished for their actions, there were no life lessons, and the overall tone was dark. It was eye-opening to see that life doesn’t always have a happy ending.” —Elise Sole
