JUDY BLUME, NOW AND FOREVER

FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY HER BOOKS HAVE MADE YOUNG READERS FEEL UNDERSTOOD. WITH TWO MOVIES BASED ON HER WORK COMING OUT, THE BELOVED AUTHOR IS HITTING A NEW STRIDE AT 85

- KATE TUTTLE

The words “national treasure” aren’t tossed around lightly, yet the phrase keeps coming up when people talk about Judy Blume. It’s what legendary producer James L. Brooks calls the equally legendary author before adding that “she would be a great Queen of England.” Indeed, there is something regal about Blume, radiant at 85, as she greets visitors at Books & Books, the shop in Key West, Fla., she owns with her husband, George Cooper, also 85. It’s the day after an early screening of the upcoming film adaptation (Brooks is a producer) of her 1970 novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. And at a press event for the film, Blume is gracious as she leads a People editor through a hectic swirl of filmmakers, journalists, fans and friends to the store’s sunny rooftop overlooking her beloved adopted hometown. “It takes so much to make a good movie!” she marvels. “You wonder how it ever happens—a good movie and a small story.”