(Or, the time my friend and I forced ourselves on Judy Blume)I cleaned out an old file cabinet in the library office this week and found this gem. (The "gem" is in the picture to the left.) It's a pamphlet about Judy Blume and her books. The title, Meet Judy Blume, made me respond, "I DID! I DID meet Judy Blume!" to myself. So, I'm feeling excited about meeting Judy Blume all over again. And I want to tell the world all about it! The story isn't too exciting, I admit, but I MET JUDY BLUME! She's a legend! Meeting a legend is always a good story. My grad school bestie, Amy, and I went to the Newbery and Caldecott award dinner at the ALA annual conference in Las Vegas this summer, and we both say that it was one of the best nights of our lives! Amy's mentor, Susan, showed us around and pointed out a lot of the authors and showed us around. But, she also reminded us that this is a night of fun for the authors and illustrators, and to give them space and to be polite. We did our best.... But, when Judy Blume ended up chatting with friends at the cocktail table next to us, Amy and I could hardly keep ourselves together. We decided to go over and introduce ourselves, but she was saying her goodbyes for the night. It was late, I'm sure she was ready to go to bed. As she said goodnight to a friend, we stood right behind the friend, and I kept making awkward eye contact with her. I was probably pretty creepy. When she turned and walked toward the door, we jumped right in front of her. It was a bold, classless move. In return, Judy Blume was so polite and gracious. She shook our hands, and gave us her attention for a few moments while we gushed at her. It really made our night. We were so excited, that the moment she left, we took an "OMG! We met Judy Blume!" selfie:
1 Comment
Sharrese
8/6/2014 03:32:46 pm
That is so awesome! I am beyond jealous of you and Amy:) Judy Blume is not only a great author but a pioneer for banning censorship. I read her book Forever (a classic) for a class a class I took in library school and I had to do a presentation on her and it was by far one of my best assignments. The one thing that stood out in my memory about Judy Blume was the reason for her writing Forever. Apparently, when her daughter was a teenager she had made a comment about how she had wished there were coming of age books that didn't demonize sexuality for teenagers especially where the girl is chastised for having sex. So as a result Forever was written and I think even having read the book as an adult I found it both informative and enjoyable to read. The main character went through the pains and aches of first love and heartache at the same time dealing with real situations such as abortion, birth control, and depression. It pretty much touched upon every topic teenagers go through while navigating their high school years.
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AuthorDebby Vandersande is a school librarian. Archives
December 2015
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