Popular children’s book and adult fiction author Judy Blume slammed book publisher Puffin for publishing an “updated,” more politically correct version of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books, saying, “I don’t believe in that.”
The author of “Are you there God? It’s Me Margaret” and “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” told Variety in a recent interview that she agreed Dahl may have used some problematic language in his writing, but insisted that his work should not be altered.
She said that children “love the way he wrote them.”
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Judy Blume In Conversation With WLRNs Alicia Zuckerman at Temple Judea on June 15, 2015 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
Blume’s words came in response to controversial news that U.K. publishing company Puffin had decided to update the classic works of Roald Dahl with less offensive language.
As Fox News Digital reported in February, “A publisher has altered children’s books by Roald Dahl – the author of several well-received children’s books that were later made into hit movies, including ‘Matilda,’ ‘James and the Giant Peach,’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ – to remove language now deemed offensive.”
Reporting detailed that Puffin U.K. “hired sensitivity readers to make changes to certain portions of the author’s wording in the U.K. editions as part of an effort to ensure the books ‘can continue to be enjoyed by all today.’”
The announcement incited swift backlash from critics who claimed the update was censorship. The backlash prompted the publisher to alter course, leaving Dahl’s original works in print as a “classic” edition, and making the updated versions a separate line.
Speaking with Variety for its new “Power of Women” issue, Blume disagreed with the publisher’s move. When asked about it, suggested Dahl would be up in arms over it. She said, “What do I think about rewriting the Roald Dahl…
