Are You There Judy, It's Me, Cynthia

Every generation or two a writer comes along and captures the imagination for kids and young adults everywhere. A few years back, the wild imagination of J.K. Rowling sent kids running away from their XBoxes and straight to the world of Hogwarts and the boy wizard named Harry. Lately it has been the lusty teen vampires sprung from the mind of Stephenie Meyer that keep kids glued to the "Twilight" book trilogy. For my generation the books we were all reading came from Judy Blume!

One of my first heroes, Blume wrote wonderful stories of kids and teens dealing with everday issues and wrote them with pathos and humor! My earliest memories of summer involve floating around the pool, absorbed her latest book. No matter what issues I dealt with, the characters in her books let me know I wasn't alone. "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret" helped me realize other girls had questions regarding breast size, religion and growing up. When my parents got divorced I delved into "It's Not The End Of The World" and escaped to find that while it may seem like the end of the world, it isn't.

It is important for kids and teens to feel that they are going through things simular to their peers and Blume's books achieve that goal! She writes in a style that is relatable to kids and teens. Although they are characters, you read the books feeling like they are your friends. I moved around a lot as a kid and sometimes books were my friends! Judy Blume's books were great company!

I think the mark of a great writer is how timeless the work is, how long it will stick around and be relevant. It is a testament to the wonderful work of Judy Blume that parent's will give her books to their kids for generations to come.