Judy Blume opposes Roald Dahl’s books being censored and rewritten

Judy Blume is a renowned author for children’s, young adult, and adult fiction, whose works have been a topic of controversy for years. In fact, Blume is one of the most widely banned authors in the United States of America.

In more recent times, the books of British author, Roald Dahl, have been heavily criticized and thus rewritten. In an interview with Variety, Blume shared her opinions on the matter.

“What do I think about rewriting the Roald Dahl books? I think if Roald Dahl was around, you would be hearing what he thinks about that,” Blume said.

“Whatever he is, whatever he’s accused of being, there’s a lot of truth there. But the books are the books,” she continued.

“Kids still love the books, and they love them the way he wrote them. So I don’t believe in that,” Blume added.

Roald Dahl controversy

Responsible for popular children’s titles like ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘James and the Giant Peach’, Dahl’s books have been censored for the language used in regards to race, gender, weight and mental health. The changes were made by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Random House.

In ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, Augustus Gloop is no longer referred to as “enormously fat” just “enormous”.

In ‘The Witches’, a character is no longer working as a “cashier in a supermarket or typing letters for a businessman” but a “top scientist or running a business”.

Authors speak out

Blume isn’t the only one angered by the censorship. Author Salman Rushdie called the rewrites “absurd” on Twitter.

“Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed,” he wrote.

Judy Blume controversy

Blume’s critics have accused her work of emphasizing the physical aspects of relationships and growing up instead of the development of morals and emotional maturity, being deemed inappropriate for young audiences.

Examples cited are ‘Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret’, ‘Forever’ and ‘Blubber’.

When asked if Dahl’s situation raised any concerns of her own work being rewritten, Blume responded with, “Not as long as I’m around.”