A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World
Updated on Sep. 24, 2024
The best stories make us feel seen and safe, no matter what we're dealing with—and the gentle truths found in these books by Judy Blume have resonated and stayed with us through time
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Age range: Early elementary
Sometimes life as a middle child can feel unbearable—and I would know. So would young Freddy, who struggles with it in this warmly written 1969 story about the second-grade boy who has begun to feel like “a great big middle nothing.” He has two problems, as far as he can tell: his big brother and his little sister. So what does a kid like him need to do to feel—or be—special? Will acting in a school play make a difference?
I wish The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo had been in my house when I was a kid and wondering the same things as Freddy, especially since I liked acting too! If your kids like this story about the importance of being seen and included, follow it up by incorporating children’s books about diversity into story time.
Age range: Elementary
All’s fair in love and war—and siblings are well acquainted with both. Blume’s adorable The Pain and the Great One, first published in 1974, centers on a third-grade sister and her first-grade brother, each of whom has plenty to say about the other and about the child their parents love best. The short story—a quick 48 pages, or about nine minutes in audio format—gives each sibling the opportunity to state just how much of a pain the other is or how great they think they are. Of course, in building their rather hilarious cases, they also point out some very lovable things about each other.
The book comes highly recommended by Deimosa Webber-Bey, who serves as Scholastic’s resident embedded librarian (aka the director of information services and cultural insight). “I felt seen as an oldest sibling when I first encountered The Pain and the Great One, written by Judy Blume and illustrated by Irene Trivas,” she says. “However, I fell in love with this picture book after witnessing it brought to life as an elementary school play with method acting by a good friend’s little brother.”
Webber-Bey is active in the American Library Association, a member of the BCALA Adult Literary Awards jury since 2019 and a former high school English teacher and teen librarian. If a book has her stamp of approval, that’s saying something!
Age range: Elementary
Fourth-grader Peter’s life would be good, no question, if it weren’t for his 2-year-old brother, Fudge, who has a penchant for ruining everything. How can one little brother do so much damage? And even if he is rather cute when he sleeps, how can Peter love him when he’s awake, wreaking havoc on Peter’s hopes and dreams?
Whether you have little siblings or not, this cute and funny story of brotherly love (with a side of argh!) will have you smiling, chuckling and nodding your head as Peter figures out how to deal with pesky-but-lovable Fudge. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a modern complement to this witty tale from 1972, so if you or a kid in your life enjoyed the Wimpy Kid series, consider adding Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to your must-read list.
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Age range: Middle school and young adult
Real kids, real problems, real help—that’s what Blume does over and over again in her books. She writes realistic and often funny stories about kids dealing with real-life challenges as they grow up. Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson is the 1993 companion to the 1987 novel Just as Long as We’re Together.
As a perfectionist-prone, worrywart child with many siblings myself, it’s exactly the story I wish someone had given me to read. Poor Rachel is bright, accomplished and one of those overachieving, straight-A kids who never quite feel like they’re doing—or being—enough. Eventually, it all starts to come down around her. But maybe, with the support of her two besties, she can figure out how to articulate all her pent-up feelings and be a less stressed, much happier version of herself.
Age range: Elementary
Like the titular character of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, I felt scared a lot as a kid. But unlike her, I didn’t put on a brave face to fool all my friends into thinking I was not afraid at all. This charming story will have you alternately cringing and chuckling as Sheila (“the Great”) navigates with bravado and bluster a big, scary summer in a new town and new house, and among new friends—and creatures. Can you learn to swim when you’re afraid of water? Why do ghosts and dogs sound the same at night? Can you make friends and keep them even if they find out your weaknesses?
This 1972 spinoff of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing falls right at the edge of a coming-of-age story as Sheila faces some challenging truths about herself, braves a summer that maybe isn’t so bad after all and grows up just a little bit. If you’re road-tripping with kids and in the market for family-friendly audiobooks, you may enjoy listening to this one (read aloud by Judy Blume!) as much as I did.
Age range: Upper elementary and middle school
When I say that Judy Blume books tackle the messy and the difficult, I mean it. And Blubber is one of those books. Blume penned the story in 1974 in response to a bullying incident in her daughter’s class and has since stated that she wanted to write about “school-bus culture in the language of that culture.” Rather than talking about bullying, Blubber shows bullying in an almost flipped-script style, with one primary character actively participating in the bullying, although she isn’t the worst bully in her class.
Though the book is, at times, funny, the chuckles quickly fade into cringes, flinches and painfully uncomfortable feelings as the story of bullying and its consequences unfolds. “This book is honest and real and painful to read at times but also one of the most memorable of Judy Blume’s books for me,” says Heather Dixon, an author of contemporary fiction who recommends Blubber to readers. “I first read it during a time when I was very aware of bullying and how awful and harmful it was. Like she does in almost all of her books, Judy Blume has a knack for zeroing in on just how much is going on in the life of a child.”
Whether you want to help someone being bullied or are an educator or parent looking to address bullying behavior, this book is a great resource. It is also a good reminder of how reading is important for building empathy and understanding.
Age range: Elementary and middle school
I’m halfway convinced that Blume has a magical mind-reading ability that helps her write so many books that hit just the right spot for kids, teens and adults alike. But the fact is, she’s just paid a lot of attention to the things that scare or hurt us all in life, and she writes stories of hope and healing as a response. It’s certainly what she did with It’s Not the End of the World, in which Karen’s parents are heading into a divorce, and she is doing her very best to keep her family—and her feelings—together against the ticking clock.
This is a great story to share with kids whose families are going through a divorce, and even though it was published in 1972, it’s just as helpful today. Its enduring relevance has Blume’s ties to the topic to thank. After all, she wrote the story after realizing that so many of her children’s friends were worried about their parents divorcing and while struggling with maintaining her own marriage. “I could see their concern and fear each time a family in our neighborhood divorced,” she said. “What do you say to your friends when you find out their parents are splitting up? If it could happen to them, could it happen to us?”
Age range: Elementary
This adorable tale from 1971 centers around a boy named Andrew, who dreams of having a freckled face like his classmate, Nicky. If he could have freckles, life would be better. Since Nicky can’t share any of his more than 86 freckles, their classmate, Sharon, makes Andrew a deal: For 50 cents, she’ll give him a special freckle juice recipe, which she guarantees will help him get freckles too. Just what lengths is he willing to go to for some freckles—and will he be happy when he finally gets them?
Blubber is a must for any children who need reminding that we can spend our time wishing we looked just like someone else, but they may secretly wish they looked like us. A funny and heart-squeezing story, Freckle Juice is sure to amuse and reassure kids that they’re perfect just the way they are: freckled, unfreckled or anything else.
“At 40 pages, it is a good early chapter book for young readers but also a good read-aloud for families,” says Cynthia Dye, a children’s librarian at the Fields Corner branch of the Boston Public Library. “It introduces Blume as an author but can also be a springboard for discussions about body image, scam artists and honesty.”
Age range: Elementary and middle school
Peter from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is back and a few years older in Superfudge, the classic story about a kid who not only still has his annoying (though lovable) younger brother underfoot but now has to prepare for the intrusion—I mean, arrival—of a new baby in the house. Worse still, he and his kid brother will be attending the same school. Is there no escape? And what happens to Fudge, the baby of the house, when their new sibling is born?
This 1980 story, the third in the Fudge series of books by Judy Blume, is a load of laughs. A pure delight and full of so much heart, it explores family dynamics, feelings of place and displacement, identity and the sibling experience.
Age range: Middle school and young adult
I wasn’t fortunate enough to have read this powerful story when I was the same age as the titular character. But when I ask female friends about it, they immediately launch into the book’s bosom-boosting exercise chant and indulge in a massive dose of nostalgia. With the novel’s film adaptation finally out in the world—53 years after the book’s 1970 publication—there’s no better time to read the classic novel.
One person who strongly recommends this book is Angela Engel, the publisher and founder of the Collective Book Studio. “Judy Blume truly connects generations,” she says. “I have three daughters, and Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret is one of the first books I encourage them to read when they reach middle school. The way this novel has withstood the test of time is so great, and it’s so fun to be able to share books that I read at that same age.”
Though beloved by many, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret has also been the target of book bans over the years for its frank and unapologetic exploration of young girls becoming young women. It casually tosses around scenes devoted to periods and bras and attraction with the same excitement as a gaggle of preteen and young teen girls hanging out at a sleepover or using a public bathroom en masse. The freedom of Margaret, a young girl, to choose a religion for herself or follow in her parents’ nonreligious footsteps is another contentious aspect of the book, though equally realistic in its examination.
Dixon, too, is a big fan. “Like so many who grew up wondering about puberty, bras, changes to our bodies and even big life changes, when I first read this book, I was instantly hooked on Margaret Simon and Judy Blume for life,” she says. “Margaret’s story is an intimate, relatable look at the life of a tween on the cusp of adolescence trying to come to an understanding of who she is and who she wants to be. A forever favorite of mine.”
Age range: Young adult
Judy Blume books have made their share of appearances on banned books lists, and Forever is no exception. The offense? The sexual exploration of the characters through the unfolding story, which sees protagonist Katherine falling in love for the first time, “doing it” for the first time and navigating a world that includes topics like birth control, abortion, choice, responsibility and more.
Katharine is a senior in high school and falls for a classmate, but even as they profess a love that seems like it will last forever, they are forced to separate for a time and must figure out what love is (or isn’t) for them after all. Published in 1975, it comes from a time when books featuring teen sex seemed to either have the girl punished for acting on her sexuality or one or both of the romantic partners behaving irresponsibly. Blume noted that she simply wanted to write a teenage love story in which “two seniors in high school fall in love, decide together to have sex and act responsibly.”
Age range: Young adult
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first picked up Tiger Eyes, especially given that the story spins out from a violent crime that takes place. It’s not so much a book about handling violence, however, as it is about grappling with grief, finding out how to move forward and starting to figure out what everything means and who you really are. After Davey’s father is shockingly killed, her world is upended, and her family struggles to process, grieve and heal. A move only does so much for her until she meets a guy named Wolf, who doesn’t save her from her grief so much as help her regain her feet and start to find her way forward again.
Published in 1981, it’s touching and timeless, providing readers with an honest and sometimes heartbreaking look at the process of working through the violent uprooting of your life that happens when someone you love deeply is ripped away from you. Although the story includes themes of family, friendship and, yes, young love, they take a backseat to the grieving process and the possibility of moving forward.
Age range: Adult
What do you do when you’ve checked all the right boxes but end up unhappily married despite it all? That’s the dilemma facing Sandy, the protagonist of Wifey. A conventional 1970s housewife from New Jersey, she starts to feel trapped and bored by the constraints of her married life and suffocated by the traditional expectations of her husband. So naturally, instead of taking the more conventional approach and joining a social club or going golfing, she spices up her life with some wild and dreamy fantasizing. But where will the fantasies take her, and what might she discover about herself—and life with her husband—along the way?
Sandy is delightfully “bad” in the best way possible, giving Blume yet another opportunity to write about tough situations and challenging matters with a deft, witty and empathetic hand. Published in 1978, Wifey was the author’s first novel for adults—and if you haven’t read it yet, be sure to bump it to the top of your TBR list.
Age range: Adult
Smart Women may not be your typical romance novel, but like a perfect glass of red wine, it is beautiful and complex. A 1983 book about friendship, family and life after marriage, it uses the story of two divorced women to explore the sexual desires of men and women in their 40s and, on occasion, contrast it with their teenage daughters’ experiences with young love. It also probes into matters of loyalty, death, grief, mental health, feminism, autonomy and independence. In turns funny, sassy, melancholy, gut-wrenching, savage and compassionate, Smart Women is one of my favorites among Judy Blume books.
Age range: Adult and mature young adult
Published in 1998, Summer Sisters is a beautiful and moving story of female friendship and the magic of summer days when we are young. Blume spent nearly 20 years writing the book, fitting given that the story unfolds in the nearly 20 years between Caitlin and Vix’s first meeting in 1977 (when they were only 12) and their 30th birthdays in 1995. It’s also a story of place, inspired in large part by Blume’s own visit to Martha’s Vineyard.
As Julianne Buonocore, president of the reading community Literary Lifestyle, put it, “Summer Sisters is a great foray into adult literature for Blume. Not only does the reader get to escape to the picturesque setting of Martha’s Vineyard, but they also get to dive into a complex female friendship that feels so immersive and salacious.”
She’s not the only one to recommend Summer Sisters, either. “I love this book so much that I reread it every summer,” says Dixon, whose latest novel, The Summerville Sisters, is similarly a story of sisterhood and summertime. “If you gravitate toward coming-of-age stories centered on female friendships, Summer Sisters is as close to perfect as you can get. Blume does such a wonderful job of revealing the complexities of the lives of girls growing into adulthood while they navigate love, grief and the joy and heartbreak of friendship.”
If you’re excited to jump into Judy Blume books in order, we’ve got you covered! We’ve broken them out into their respective categories and listed them in chronological publication order within those sections.
Illustrated books for young readers:Â
Pain and the Great One series:Â
Fudge series:
Best Friends series:
Middle-grade books:Â
Young adult books:
Adult books:
Because books by Judy Blume cover issues we all face at different stages of life, you can pick a novel based on your feelings and situation. That’s why we let you know a good time to read each book based on what’s going on in your life—or the life of whomever you are sharing the books with.
Of course, if you’re really just curious about which book was written first, well, we have the answer: The very first Judy Blume book published is 1969’s The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo. Another strategy: Choose Judy Blume books by age, which we’ve included in our list for easy reference.
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At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite books for over 100 years. We’ve worked with bestselling authors including Susan Orlean, Janet Evanovich and Alex Haley, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning Roots grew out of a project funded by and originally published in the magazine. Through Fiction Favorites (formerly Select Editions and Condensed Books), Reader’s Digest has been publishing anthologies of abridged novels for decades. We’ve worked with some of the biggest names in fiction, including James Patterson, Ruth Ware, Kristin Hannah and more. The Reader’s Digest Book Club, helmed by Books Editor Tracey Neithercott, introduces readers to even more of today’s best fiction by upcoming, bestselling and award-winning authors. For this piece on books by Judy Blume, Heather Hill tapped her experience as a longtime journalist and book lover (and #bookstagram contributor) to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
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