Judy Blume is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

. She has written many novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s for child

Child

Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...

ren and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages. Blume's novels for teenagers were among the first to tackle such controversial matters as racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 (Iggie's House

Iggie's House

Iggie's House is a 1970 young adult novel by Judy Blume. The story concerns Winnie, whose best friend Iggie has moved away. The new family moving into Iggie's house are the first African Americans in the neighborhood...

), menstruation

Menstruation

Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...

 (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.), divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

 (It's Not the End of the World

It's Not the End of the World

It's Not the End of the World is a young adult novel written by Judy Blume, published in 1972.The lead character of the story is a 12-year-old girl named Karen Newman. Karen is the middle child in her family and is unfortunately not her parents' favorite...

, Just As Long As We're Together

Just as Long as We're Together (novel)

Just as Long as We're Together is a young adult novel written by Judy Blume and published in 1987.The novel is narrated by Stephanie 'Steph' Hirsch, who has several changes in her life happening at the same time...

), bullying (Blubber

Blubber (novel)

Blubber is a young adult novel by Judy Blume first published in 1974. The protagonist is Jill Brenner, a Pennsylvania fifth-grader who joins her classmates in ostracizing and bullying Linda, an awkward and overweight girl...

), masturbation

Masturbation

Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...

 (Deenie

Deenie

Deenie is a 1973 young adult novel written by Judy Blume.-Plot summary:Deenie chronicles the life of thirteen-year-old Wilmadeene "Deenie" Fenner, whose mother is determined to have her become a model...

; Then Again, Maybe I Won't

Then Again, Maybe I Won't

Then Again, Maybe I Won't is a 1971 young adult novel written by Judy Blume. Intended for pre-teens and teenagers, the novel deals with puberty from a male perspective as well as the other trials of growing up...

) and teen sex (Forever), and as such have been the source of controversy over the appropriateness of such topics for her middle school audience.
Blume was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey

Elizabeth, New Jersey

Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...

 to Esther (née Rosenfeld), a homemaker, and Ralph Sussman, a dentist.