Happy Birthday To Blume!

I guess you can read if you want, but most male readers will want to skip this one.  Sorry, fellas.

Yesterday, Judy Blume turned 74.  I believe every girl in my age range read at least one of her books, but I hadn't thought about Tiger Eyes for at least two decades.  It made me read a little about who she was and how she managed to reach a nearly universal appeal with girls twelve through fifteen.  Then I remembered how funny and realistic the characters were.  Parents said stupid things sometimes, and the kids were just as mean and unfiltered as they are in real life.  At a time when most fiction was shallow and safe (Sweet Valley High, anyone?), Blume challenged the market by giving us a story that had warts and tears and those argh moments only a teenage girl can know.  She was unflinching when it came to the difficult parts of life, and that gritty sort of storytelling was magical in its liberation.  We could be cranky, we could make mistakes, we would survive no matter what life hurled at us.  We were introduced to compassion and morals at the time we were forming ideas about the world.

I do vaguely remember some discussions about whether Blume crossed the lines of being appropriate.  My general memories say that parents were offended by the material, but couldn't quote an example or specific reason.  My parents let me read anything I wanted and always had, so I watched the debate from the outside.  Blubber was just what I needed to read at that age in life, however.  I really did feel for both Jill and Linda in different parts of the story, and going to small school full of cliques had left me feeling unsure of school friendships.  This totally accurate portrayal of how fast popularity can turn in on itself was as much of a warning as the realization that the teasing eventually moves on is a balm for the victims.  It also touched on racism, and was an introduction on why it was wrong and how to react when confronted with racism.  Her books really did prepare me for some of life's ugliness and gave us a chance to work out those ideas in our head before life blindsided us with the scariest beast in the world: the sixteen-year-old she-bitch.

Tiger Eyes is going to be released as a movie soon, with Blume's son directing.  A story that teaches kids about grief and loss, it will likely be updated but contain the same message that it's okay to be sad and life goes on (as it should).  For kids who have lost a loved one or have just felt a strong fear of death, Tiger Eyes is the perfect introduction to the grief process as well as starting a discussion with kids just now realizing that parents are human and therefore can die.

Happy birthday, madam.  I think I'll head to Amazon now and order a copy of Are You There, God?  It's Me, Margaret for my youngest niece.  I still have my copy, but there is something special about having your own.