Interview with Judy Blume

We all have role models. We all have heroes. But, it's not often we get the chance to talk with one of our heroes, is it?

I was on the road when I received an e-mail about Judy Blume's blog tour. And, you'd better believe that I found the nearest internet cafe, in the middle of the night, to send in my questions.

I've admired Judy Blume since I was in the third grade and checked out Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret from the school library. After Margaret, I read everything available to me as a child growing up in the 70s: Blubber, Deenie, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. And, let's not forget Forever, an honest book about teen love and sex that was restricted in (at least) my school library.

I love and respect Judy Blume's work for its truth, and its soul-shaking honesty, for its clarity and its pitch-perfect dialogue. And, now as an adult, I see that her work for younger children is equally as strong.

Judy Blume is on tour because her latest The Pain & the Great One title has just been released--Going, Going, Gone! with the Pain & the Great One. Most of my questions concern this fantastic series for newly-emergent readers. (Here are my reviews of Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One and Cool Zone with the Pain & the Great One.)

Here we go...

Kelly: Where do you get your ideas? No, just kidding! My first question really concerns writing for different age groups. I suspect the story you want to tell leads you to your audience. But…is writing for one particular audience more difficult than writing for another? I've always imaged that writing for the newly-emergent reader as you do with The Pain & the Great One series is more difficult than writing for the Superfudge audience. What do you think?

Judy Blume: I find writing for any audience hard! Really hard, especially during the first draft. I dread first drafts. Second and third drafts are easier. After that it's usually fun. Doesn't matter what age group I'm writing for – it's equally difficult for me. I'm not a natural short story writer (though I enjoy writing episodic fiction) and I had to come up with 28 stories for the Pain & the Great One books over a couple of years. This was a real challenge. But publishing is like giving birth – once the baby is born you forget the pain and struggle. Okay, so that's not always true – I vowed after Summer Sisters I was never writing another book. The pain! The struggle! But looking back, I'm so glad I wrote it, and probably I will do it again.

KH: While you've written for audiences of all ages, you've always remained in real life writing realistic fiction. Do you read fantasy or science fiction?

JB: Good question. Actually I think we tend to write what we like to read and I like realistic fiction. I've never been drawn to fantasy or science fiction (though I did read all the Oz books when I was 8 or 9).

KH: The Pain or the Great One--who is your favorite? Really, I do want to know, because I can't tell when reading The Pain and the Great One stories!

JB: Well, that's good! I mean, I'm glad you can’t tell which character I prefer. I don't think I prefer one over the other. I'm like a mother – I try to see both sides.

[Editorial note: I was so The Great One as a child. And my sister was the Pain. We even called each other by these names. Thanks, Free to Be...You and Me and Judy.]

KH: One of my favorite stories in Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One concerns Abigail (The Great One) and her inability to ride a bike. I love the chapter "The Great Pretender" (told from the Pain's point of view) when the Pain learns he has something over his sister. Not only can he ride a bike and he's 2 years younger than the Great One, but she's been lying to her friends about her bike and why she can't ride it! Then when the Great One tells her tale of finally learning to ride on her own in "Weirdo on Wheels," we're all on her side, cheering her on. Even the Pain (Jake) shows his admiration or, at least, Abigail thinks he does. Hmmm...where's my question? Okay, here it is: What's interesting about Abigail's learning to ride a bike is that it takes a new member of the family--a new Uncle--to teach her. Mom couldn't teach her, Dad couldn't teach her--only Uncle Mitchell could. I found this scenario to be so true. Why do you think children find it easier to learn from near strangers?

JB: Sure, I think it's easier to learn from someone you're not trying to please, or from someone who won't be judgmental. That's why we have Driver's Ed, isn't it? There's so much else going on in the parent/child relationship. Kids don't want to disappoint. Parents' expectations can get in the way. That's why so many kids write to me about their problems. I'm safe. They don't have to get up the next morning and face me at the breakfast table. Parents shouldn't feel threatened by this. It's good for kids to have other adults in their lives – parents of friends, teachers, and yes, uncles like Mitch, who can teach a reluctant learner how to ride a bike.

KH: In Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One, the Pain is victim to a bully and the Great One leaps to his defense, tackling the bully after he steals the Pain's brand new Science Center magnifying glass from grandma. Then the kids learn from Mom and Dad that it isn't always best to confront a bully on your own. The next time the bully attacks--worms on the Great One's head--Jacob tells his teacher and his sister's teacher about the incident. The teachers are remarkably respectful and responsive to this situation. What would you say to children who aren't so lucky with adult authority figures?

JB: This is a tough question, one I asked my best friend, Mary, who's a first grade teacher. She says the child should always tell his/her teacher, and parents. If that doesn't work, the parent can go to the principal or the school counselor (if there is one) to discuss the situation. There are some non-fiction books on bullying written for parents. And Pat Scales, educator extraordinaire did a guide for adults and older kids, available free from Random House. In it, she and I do a Q&A about bullying based on my book Blubber which takes place in 5^th grade.

Other sites recommended on Pat's guide: NoBully.org, Bullying: What to do about it?

KH: Thank you, Judy, for speaking with me today. You can catch the rest of Judy Blume's tour at the following fantastic blogs over the next two weeks:

2/2 : Bildungsroman
12/4: Jen Robinson’s Book Page
12/9 : The Well-Read Child
12/10 : Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
12/12 : A Patchwork of Books

Happy Thanksgiving + Poetry Friday

Happy Thanksgiving to all you who celebrate. I've taken the non-traditional route of a road trip with the kids and my sister this year and, so far, so good.

A few notes:

1. This week's Poetry Friday roundup will be held at Lisa Chellman's place. Thanks, Lisa!
2. I will finally be back with a weekend reviews post on Sunday and will
3. return to regular blogging on Monday with an interview with the one-and-only Judy Blume.

Thank you all for hanging in with me during this slow November.

Book Review: Cool Zone with the Pain & the Great One

The Pain and the Great One return in the 2008 Cool Zone with the Pain & the Great One. (Judy Blume's first Pain and Great One chapter book, Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One, came out in 2007.) This time the brother and sister duo face bullying at school, the dreaded school bus, name changes, pet show and tell, and art class.

Blume wrote The Pain & the Great One series for newly independent readers and the series is perfect for kids heading into kindergarten and the first through fourth grades. Blume's remarkable understanding of child psychology and trademark dialogue make The Pain & the Great One as important and entertaining as Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret is for older children. The Pain and the Great One narrate alternating stories each in distinct voices. The Great One is bossy, wants to stand out from the crowd (changes her name from Abigail to Violet Rose), and protective (goes after a bully who picks on the Pain). The Pain is inquisitive, sweet, and, of course, can be a pest. Take a look at how this conversation--narrated by the Pain--tells us all we need to know about the siblings (and their grandmother):

"'Grandma never should have given you that magnifying glass,' the Great One said. 'You're way too young.'

'Am not!'

'Are too!'

The next time Grandma came to visit, the Great One said, 'I don't think Jake is old enough to have his own magnifying glass.'

'I do,' Grandma said. 'He's interested in science.'

'Ha ha,' I said to the Great One. 'I'm interested in science.'

'I'm interested in science too,' the Great One said. 'Ms. Valdez is my favorite teacher and she teaches science.'

'I'm glad to hear that,' Grandma said.

'But no one ever gave me a magnifying glass from the science museum,' the Great One told her.

'Did you ever ask for one?' Grandma said.

'No.'

'Well, that explains it,' Grandma said. 'Now I know what you'd like for your next birthday.'"

Any child with a sibling will recognize the truth in this conversation. Cool Zone with the Pain & the Great One is highly recommended for anyone with a sibling (or anyone who wants to rejoice in being an only child), anyone in elementary school, and anyone anywhere who enjoys a good story and great narration. Enjoy.

Book Review: Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One

Judy Blume is a hero of mine: She turns the everyday into humorous, entertaining, thought-provoking stories any child or teen can relate to and find solace in. So, when I was offered the opportunity to ask Judy Blume five questions for an upcoming September blog tour, I jumped at the chance and began reading the series she'll be talking about--The Pain and the Great One. (The third volume in this series for readers ages four to eight--Going, Going, Gone! With The Pain and the Great One--will be out this Fall.)

When I cracked open Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One, I was in San Francisco visiting my sister.

"Wow," I said to her. "This book is great. But it seems familiar."

"It is familiar," she said. "Don't you remember? There's a Pain and the Great One story in Free to Be...You and Me. You were the Great One and I was the Pain."

Talk about a blast from the past. Once she mentioned me calling her "the Pain," it all came back. Free to Be...You and Me was a staple in our home. My sister and I had it memorized. I'm sorry I called you the Pain, Kara!

So after thirty three years Judy Blume brings the Pain and the Great One back for more adventures in the 2007 Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One. (The first The Pain and the Great One was published as a picture book in 1974.) And the Pain--a first-grade boy named Jacob--and the Great One--a third-grade girl named Abigail--are just as relevant as they were in the 1970s. Sibling rivalry never gets old.

In Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One, the Pain faces a dreaded hair cut, plays soccer, and teases his sister. The Great One has bigger problems: She's in third grade and can't ride a bike. Even the Pain can ride a bike! Abigail has resorted to telling her friends she Rollerblades faster than they can bike and that her bike is broken anyway. It's a delicate situation and not the only sticky scenario Abigail faces: She also throws a half birthday party only one child can attend and changes her name to Violet Rose--an attempt at originality that fails miserably.

See? Everyday, humorous kid situations. But Blume's sympathetic touch and skillful narrative technique make Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One a winner. This book--a book written for newly emergent readers--had me turning the pages past midnight. The alternating narration between the Pain and the Great One works beautifully--each voice is distinct and neither the Pain nor the Great One dominates the story. Indeed, the story is forged from their two, and sometimes conflicting, points of view.

Soupy Saturdays with the Pain & the Great One is highly recommended for all children ages four to nine and to anyone of any age who has a sibling. Enjoy!

A review of Cool Zone with the Pain & the Great One will follow later this week.