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| Image: Simon & Schuster |
#tbt features Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. This year marks the 50th anniversary of a short (149 p.) little book that rocked the children's book world. Twelve-year-old Margaret Simon moves from New York City to NJ and wants nothing more than to make friends and fit in. She thinks this might happen when she's invited to Nancy, Gretchen and Janie's secret club. They are shocked to discover that Margaret has no religious affiliation since one parent is Jewish and the other Christian. She is spiritual and has a relationship with God. She finds comfort in talking out issues such as why she hasn't yet had her period and breast development is nowhere in sight.
The book soon became beloved by legions of young girls who found comfort in Margaret, but also landed on the annual list of banned books for its frank discussion of puberty and religion. The cover has undergone many iterations over the years. Check out Wikipedia for an image of the original cover. Simon & Schuster has a special anniversary issue that is pictured below. In 2018, Ms. Blume finally gave her approval to have the book adapted for film, but is apparently still in production.
As a side note, a year later, Then Again Maybe I Won't was published, which focuses on the male experience of puberty. These books have withstood the test of time. They may seem relatively tame compared to some of the issues now explored in children's and young adult literature; but the books were groundbreaking.
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