Judy Blume: Censorship

It is no secret that Judy Blume often appears as the author of a banned book or two. Blume clearly states her goal to write honestly to her readers and be authentic, not write "down" to them. She is a bold force when it comes to book censorship. 

Blume simply wrote what she knew and what was true. She never expected controversy until her third book, Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, received many negative responses from parents and teachers (Tracy 22). 

Kathleen Tracy notes, "Writing honestly for children also meant being willing to ruffle feathers and to unblinkingly discuss topics that many adults shy away from" (32). 

Tracy describes Blume as a "prolific" and "courageous" writer who is "unafraid to make herself vulnerable to her readers" (32). 

Blume's books have been "accompanied by a controversy that once again found the center of a morality firestorm" (Tracy 39).

When censorship, beginning in schools, expanded to libraries, Blume took action and joined the National Coalition Against Censorship, an organization that she still actively serves on, fighting censorship day in and day out.

Sources: Tracy, Kathleen. Judy Blume: A Biography. Greenwood Press, 2008.

• Tiger Eyes

  • Tiger Eyes was first banned in 1984 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming for sexual content and inappropriateness. In 1999 it was removed from many Junior high shelves due to the same reasons and drinking at school.

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. 2014.

• Forever
  • ​Forever was challenged and banned around 20 times through the years 1982 to 2006, with reasons that content discussed masturbation, birth control, demoralization of marital sex, and glamorizing sex. 

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Book: Challenging Our Freedom to Read.

• Blubber
  • ​Blubber was first removed in 1980 and continued to be challenged through 1999. It was banned because it was deemed immoral, had inappropriate language and showed student to student abuse.

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. "Blume, Judy - Blubber." 2014

Ala Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
  • ​Banned throughout the 1980s across America due to its themes of 'sex and anti-Christian behavior.' Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret has also been widely challenged as being 'profane, immoral, and offensive.'

​Doyle, Robert P. Banned Book: Challenging Our Freedom to Read.

• Deenie
• Then Again Maybe I Won't
  • ​Both Deenie and Then Again Maybe I Won't  have been banned in school districts because they are about sex and sexual awakenings, and generally for their 'sexual references and strong language.' Only older students and younger students with their parents' permission were allowed to read these titles.

"Peoria School Board Restores 3 Judy Blume Books." New York Times 5 Dec. 1984: A16.

• "There was no organized effort to ban my books or any other books, none that I knew of, anyway. The seventies were a good decade for writers and readers. Many of us came of age during those years, writing from our hearts and guts, finding editors and publishers who believed in us, who willingly took risks to help us find our audience. We were free to write about real kids in the real world. Kids with feelings and emotions, kids with real families, kids like we once were. And young readers gobbled up our books, hungry for characters with whom they could identify, including my own daughter and son, who had become avid readers."
• "In this age of censorship I mourn the loss of books that will never be written, I mourn the voices that will be silenced -- writers' voices, teachers' voices, students' voices -- and all because of fear. How many have resorted to self-censorship? How many are saying to themselves, 'Nope...can't write about that. Can't teach that book. Can't have that book in our collection. Can't let my student write that editorial in the school paper.'"
• "What I worry about most is the loss to young people. If no one speaks out for them, if they don't speak out for themselves, all they'll get for required reading will be the most bland books available. And instead of finding the information they need at the library, instead of finding the novels that illuminate life, they win find only those materials to which nobody could possibly object."
• "By not having courage, we lose all our chances."