Judy Blume is one of the best-selling authors in history and has published more than 25 novels for children, young adults, and adults. In 2023, Blume was named as one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and the author's books have sold over 82 million copies, along with being translated into 32 languages. Now, after more than half a century, her name has entered the cinematic landscape, with one of her extraordinary, though often debated, books being adapted into a feature film — Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
With tremendous sales, critical acclaim, and loyal support from readers across the globe, Blume's subjects have included such controversial topics as divorce, sexuality, masturbation, puberty, religion, and bullying. Never didactic, she has written unflinchingly about such seemingly difficult subjects without shame. Doing so has kept Blume’s name and works in headlines about books that either should or should not be accessible to young readers.
The American Library Association included five of Blume's books in their list of the top 100 most banned books. Nevertheless, she has persevered with her signature at-ease confidence. “A book cannot harm a child,” she affirmed in Judy Blume Forever, a recently released documentary about her life.
The acclaimed Prime Video documentary comes alongside the aforementioned film adaptation of arguably one of her most beloved and controversial works, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Blume spoke with MovieWeb to share her thoughts on the adaptation and what’s next for her globally cherished characters.
What Judy Blume Means to the World
In the opening scenes of the documentary Judy Blume Forever, actress Molly Ringwald (Tempest) explained what so many other readers would agree with: “Everything I learned about sex, or thinking about sex, or crushes, I learned from Judy."
More so, the author of American Marriage, Tayari Jones, added her thoughts on what it was like growing up reading Blume’s books, “It was like a look into a secret world. I felt like someone was being honest. That's a gift. That's magic.”
Blume herself realized the enormous need for such frankness in books for young people when she was writing Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. “No adult was talking to us about anything like that. I wanted to be truthful and honest. I just wanted to put what I had experienced out there for other kids.”
On whether she hesitated to attempt to publish such unabashed material. “I never thought about whether the issue of puberty was controversial," explained Blume. "Was I going to be allowed to do it? Would I find a publisher?” Those were the questions. Her internal response? “I just let go.”
Judy Blume on Identifying with Children
Blume’s reach of relatability has expanded so far into the hearts and homes of fans that she even appeared in an episode of The Simpsons. When Lisa meets a cartoon version of Judy Blume, she exclaims, “Judy Blume! Oh, I own all your books.”
From her popular Fudge series about a witty and at times mischievous little boy inspired by Blume’s real-life son Larry, to Freckle Juice, Blubber, and more, kids have had no problem finding characters within Blume’s books who they can relate to.
Said Judy Blume, “When I started to write, I only identified with kids, not with adults.”
And yet, there was only one of Blume’s books, Iggie’s House, where children of color — including African-American kids — were included. As a testament to Blume’s enormous ability to make all children feel seen regardless, however, this non-inclusiveness never really mattered, as her work seemed so universally representative of childhood itself.
The Film Adaptation of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
And so, if there was even one possible way in which a film adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret improves upon her classic novel and contribution to popular culture, it is the inclusion of diversity. Blume has justifiably stood the test of time and now, just like the literary fairy godmother she has always been, she is inspiring a shift in inclusive consciousness.
Though still effectively set in the 1970s, the adaptation of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret — which stars Academy Award-nominated actress Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates and Abby Ryder Fortson — allowed for a refreshing casting evolution. Including JeCobi Swain, there were four unexpected and effective actors cast in ethnically re-imagined characters in comparison to the novel.
Blume explained the casting decision:
It was intentional. I think we discussed it on day one. It was very important to me to show diverse characters on the screen. And equally important to Jim and Kelly [producer and director/screenwriter]. It was Kelly, I think, who came up with the casting of Mr. Benedict (portrayed by Echo Kellum). I love his performance.
In an even greater show of Blume's keen ability to capture the needs and voice of the often unseen or unheard, whether children or marginalized voices, she added, “Also, it's showing people without making their skin color a part of the story. Many years ago my son and I did a short film based on Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, and we cast a girl from a diverse background and when I saw how much that mattered to kids in the audience, I vowed to always make sure we had diverse characters, should we ever be involved in another film."
Blume noted the character of Janie, too, as a casting choice that was re-imagined as African American. Portrayed by Amari Alexis Price, Blume said she was, “A delight in the movie. ”
With adaptations, of course, comes development. However, in regard to the core authenticity of the book, Blume also spoke on whether, from her perspective, there was ever any consideration to de-emphasize God, arguably an unseen supporting character in the novel.
With so much emphasis on removing every religion's God from public schools and in film and television, Blume spoke on whether she felt any pressure or concern about keeping God in the title and also as a deliberate focus of the film. Her response was concise and applicable:
I don't think we ever thought about that. I mean, that's the book.
Judy Blume in Real Life
The mother of now adult children Larry and Randy, Blume lives in Key West, Florida with her husband, George Cooper, where they own and operate an independent bookstore, “Books & Books @ The Studios of Key West." In the documentary, she lovingly refers to her daily routine of straightening the books on the shelves as “petting them” to make sure they are “lined up pretty."
Fans or those interested in learning more about Blume’s life while growing up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, will enjoy watching the documentary Judy Blume Forever and realizing how her childhood played an integral role in informing her eventual writing career.
“I was an anxious child,” Blume shared. “I felt adults kept secrets from the kids. I hated those secrets. I think I had to make up what those secrets were. That fueled my imagination.”
She went on to further explain the bone structure of her own personal development and how her parents were influential, saying, “My mother, who worried about everything, didn't seem to worry about what I was reading. But we could never talk about anything. I knew never to ask for personal questions. I knew I wasn't going to get an answer.”
On the other hand, she added, “My father was the nurturer. He cut the toenails. He took our temperatures if we were sick. I adored my father. He tried to raise me to want an adventurous life and to be adventurous and to take chances.”
Judy Blume’s curiosity and bravery are illustrated both in the content in her books and in her deliberate choice to live an ambitious life as wife and mother going against the grain of a suburban woman's place before women's liberation. Blume recalled that she doesn't think one single wife in the cul-de-sac where she and her husband lived had a job. This wasn't enough for Judy, and she followed her heart and pursued a career as an author.
Perhaps her mother’s voice is also exactly why fans still gravitate to Blume’s work. Blume mentioned what her mother always said to her, a warning that is perhaps a universal whisper of maternal consciousness embedded in most all children in some way or another.
“My mother always said, ‘Be a good girl, Judy’," she said. "I was a good girl with a bad girl lurking just inside, but I knew what was expected of me.”
"I could be fearless in my writing in a way that, maybe I wasn't always in my life," added Blume.
On What’s Next for Adaptations of Blume’s Work
Blume shared that she plans to maintain her footing with a commitment to diversity and also all that is in store for her other novels. “The illustrations in a more recent series of four books – The Pain and the Great One series – show kids from various ethnic groups without making that a part of the story," said Blume. She added:
I got a letter from a Vietnamese girl years ago saying what she liked best in Just As Long As We’re Together was that a major character was Vietnamese, but that the story wasn't about that. Letters like that from my readers taught me a lot.
And, Blume shared, her Fudge character, “is optioned and supposed to be an animated feature.”
On the heels of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret being released as a feature film, Blume also added news about an upcoming adaptation of her young adult novel, “A re-imagined Forever, a limited series inspired by the book but telling a different story set in today's world, by Mara Brock Akil [The Game] – will soon be filmed.”
After over 50 years of fans waiting to see Blume’s endearing young characters come to life on screen, she added that finally, we may also see one additional adaptation, Summer Sisters, one of Blume's adult novels. "It's set to be a limited series. But that's still in the early stages of development,” she noted. Even after half a lauded century, much of Blume's brilliance is still in early development.
More about Judy Blume’s inspiring life can explored by watching Judy Blume Forever, now streaming on Prime Video.