Stand Tall

Written by Joan Bauer

Narrated by Ron McLarty

Tree, a six-foot-three-inch 12-year-old, copes with his parents’ recent divorce and his failure as an athlete by helping his grandfather, a Vietnam vet and recent amputee, and Sophie, a new girl at school.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 24, 2003
• ISBN: 9780807216750

Joan Bauer

July 12, 1951 - "I was born at eleven A.M., a most reasonable time, my mother often said, and when the nurse put me in my mother's arms for the first time I had both a nasty case of the hiccups and no discernible forehead (it's since grown in). I've always believed in comic entrances. "As I grew up in River Forest, Illinois in the 1950's I seem to remember an early fascination with things that were funny. I thought that people who could make other people laugh were terribly fortunate. While my friends made their career plans, declaring they would become doctors, nurses, and lawyers, inwardly, I knew that I wanted to be involved somehow in comedy. This, however, was a difficult concept to get across in first grade. But I had a mother with a great comic sense (she was a high school English teacher) and a grandmother who was a funny professional storyteller—so I figured the right genes were in there somewhere, although I didn't always laugh at what my friends laughed at and they rarely giggled at my jokes. That, and the fact that I was overweight and very tall, all made me feel quite different when I was growing up—a bit like a water buffalo at a tea party. "My grandmother, who I called Nana, had the biggest influence on me creatively. She taught me the importance of stories and laughter. She never said, 'Now I'm going to tell you a funny story', she'd just tell a story, and the humor would naturally flow from it because of who she was and how she and her characters saw the world. She showed me the difference between derisive laughter that hurts others and laughter that comes from the heart. She showed me, too, that stories help us understand ourselves at a deep level. She was a keen observer of people. "I kept a diary as a child, was always penning stories and poems. I played the flute heartily, taught myself the guitar, and wrote folk songs. For years I wanted to be a comedienne, then a comedy writer. I was a voracious reader, too, and can still remember the dark wood and the green leather chairs of the River Forest Public Library, can hear my shoes tapping on the stairs going down to the children's room, can feel my fingers sliding across rows and rows of books, looking through the card catalogues that seemed to house everything that anyone would ever need to know about in the entire world. My parents divorced when I was eight years old, and I was devastated at the loss of my father. I pull from that memory regularly as a writer. Every book I have written so far has dealt with complex father issues of one kind or another. My father was an alcoholic and the pain of that was a shadow that followed me for years. I attempted to address that pain in Rules of the Road. It was a very healing book for me. I didn't understand it at the time, but I was living out the theme that I try to carry into all of my writing: adversity, if we let it, will make us stronger. "In my twenties, I had a successful career in sales and advertising with the Chicago Tribune, McGraw-Hill, and Parade Magazine. I met my husband Evan, a computer engineer, while I was on vacation. Our courtship was simple. He asked me to dance; I said no. We got married five months later in August, 1981. But I was not happy in advertising sales, and I had a few ulcers to prove it. With Evan's loving support, I decided to try my hand at professional writing. I wish I could say that everything started falling into place, but it was a slow, slow build—writing newspaper and magazine articles for not much money. My daughter Jean was born in July of 82. She had the soul of a writer even as a baby. I can remember sitting at my typewriter (I didn't have a computer back then) writing away with Jean on a blanket on the floor next to me. If my writing was bad that day, I'd tear that page out of the typewriter and hand it to her. 'Bad paper,' I'd say and Jean would rip the paper in shreds with her little hands. "I had moved from journalism to screenwriting when one of the biggest challenges of my life occurred. I was in a serious auto accident which injured my neck and back severely and required neurosurgery. It was a long road back to wholeness, but during that time I wrote Squashed, my first young adult novel. The humor in that story kept me going. Over the years, I have come to understand how deeply I need to laugh. It's like oxygen to me. My best times as a writer are when I'm working on a book and laughing while I'm writing. Then I know I've got something." Joan's first novel, Squashed, won the Delacorte Prize for a First Young Adult Novel. Five novels for young adult readers have followed: Thwonk, Sticks, Rules of the Road (LA Times Book Prize and Golden Kite), Backwater and Hope was Here (Newbery Honor Medal). Joan lives in Darien, CT with her husband and daughter. Copyright © 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.

[edgoldberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love Joan Bauer. I liked her books from way back, but after hearing her speak just about a year ago, I love her even more. She is vibrant, vivacious, purposeful and she's a good storyteller, apparently coming from a family of storytellers. So, when I saw a random copy of Stand Tall, I figured it was worth reading...and I was right.

Twelve-year-old Tree has a complicated life. He's the tallest seventh grader at Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School, weighing in at 6' 7" (that equates to a size 16 shoe, if you're intersted). He's not good at sports, even though everyone thinks a 6' 7" kid is a born athlete. His parents are recently divorced and they have shared custody so he (and the school) needs a color coded schedule to know where he's residing on any given day. And his Vietnam Vet grandfather just got his leg amputated below the knee. So, things aren't easy.

While teens may not relate to everything in Stand Tall, there's enough to gain and keep their attention. As Susan often reminds me, Joan Bauer is one of only a handful of authors whose books are good for middle grades. There's no violence, no cursing, no inappropriate behavior. What Ms. Bauer does produce is a good story line that combines obstacles with hope, a daunting-looking future offset by strong role model characters. All this with humor and great characters. Stand Tall is no slouch of a book. OK, you can groan now.

[alelliott · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tree gets his name from the fact that he is twelve years old and is six feet, three inches tall. Everyone who meets him can't help but comment on his height, and Tree is getting tired of it. But that is just a drop in the bucket, compared to dealing with his parents' divorce and helping his grandfather, a Vietnam vet who just had his leg amputated. But when he meets Sophie, a unique girl who is facing down school bullies in her own way, she begins to teach him that confidence comes with believing in yourself. Tree is able to use his new-found confidence when an environmental disaster threatens the entire town.

I adore Joan Bauer's sassy female protagonist, and here she creates a male protagonist who is just as determined and interesting. Tree is a great example for kids because he is kind and takes care of his friends and family. Even though it's hard to split his life between his mother and father's houses, he does his best to maintain a cheery outlook. Students will appreciate this very real look at divorce and how it affects family, and they will definitely find strength in Tree.

For ages 10 and up.

[sandra305 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Joan Bauer is becoming one of my favorite YA authors! I love the multi-layering in this book: Tree's relationships with his family and his peers, his grandfather with his Vietnam war experiences and his recent below-the-knee amputation, the issue of divorce and all its ramifications, etc. As usual with Bauer's books, I love the characters--especially independent and quirky Sophie. This book gives the reader a lot to think about in terms of self-image, peer pressure, divorce, war, community response to a natural disaster, etc. Highly Recommended!

[kdangleis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Stand Tall by Joan Bauer is a realistic fiction book about a teenage boy and his family’s struggle to deal with the divorce of his parents. Tree, a 7th grader, is 6 feet 3 inches tall and is the tallest middle school student in the history of Ripley. His two brothers are away at college and Tree is living with his mom one week and his dad and grandpa the next, as they have shared custody since the divorce. Everyone is struggling with the divorce, especially Tree. Tree’s grandpa, a Vietnam vet, is someone whom Tree looks up to. During the adjustment period of the divorce, Tree’s grandfather has his leg amputated. Tree helps his grandfather with rehab and draws from his grandfather’s strength to deal with his own difficulties in life (not fitting in at school, dealing with his nonathletic ability despite his height and his brothers’ natural talent, having to cope alone with the divorce of his parents, etc.). Tree faces typical problems that plague the teenagers in any jr. high school: wanting to be accepted; worrying about not fitting in; being different. Every tween and teenager is worried that they won’t be accepted for what they look like, whether it’s because they are too short, too tall (as in Tree’s case), too fat, too thin, too smart, too dumb, etc. This story is one that plays out all over the country, and is actually universal; it could be set in any town, in any country. Many children face the break-up of their parents’ marriage and struggle with being caught in the middle of arguments and the division of the family unit, as Tree experiences throughout the book. The lack of athletic ability that Tree possesses might seem odd to the young reader; however, the expectations and stereotypical ideas of society on someone who is tall to play basketball is relevant and an eye opener for readers to consider when reflecting on judgments they place on people in their own lives. Through Tree’s character, Bauer is able to convey the idea that anyone can “stand tall” despite being different or feeling isolated because of hardships.

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a season! January and February winter winds whipped the air. One NE Pennsylvania snowstorm brought 17" of icy cold accumulation. What at first provided a beautiful white wonderland, became ugly, gray piles that stubbornly refused to abandon their steadfast mountain.

Finally after unrelenting days of heavy, pelting rain, the tangible reminder of cold, bitter days melted into the wet earth.

Today's sunshine brought a harbinger of spring. And, the delightful book I finished tonight was a breath of fresh, clean, cottony air!

My winter reads included Never Let Me Go and Unwind, both of which dealt with the heavy topic of futuristic dystopian worlds of cloning and recycled bodies. The Death of Sweet Mister, while excellently written, was indeed dark and grim in subject matter. The Measure of Our Days was read during a time when my beloved friend struggled valiantly during her final battle with ovarian cancer.

Thus, when reading Stand Tall I welcomed the cool, fresh breezy of a gentle story which included a delightful cast of characters who overcame difficulties, planted their roots and reached through the branches of the tree to see a clear blue, bright sky.

"Tree" is an awkwardly tall 6' 3" twelve-year old boy whose family is facing divorce. Newly transplanted, unsophisticated Sophie is the butt of jokes from the oh so pretty snobs. Tree's grandfather is a Viet Nam veteran who recently experienced a leg amputation, and Bradley is Tree's aged dog who is tired and weary.

In the hands of Joan Bauer each learn to call upon inner strength they need to walk forward and stand tall.

The book contains flag waving, flute playing, drum banging and good ole spirit that warms the heart.

Many thanks to allthesedarnbooks (Marcia) for telling me about his wonderful book.

Highly recommended.

[ermsmediacenter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tree, a six-foot-three-inch twelve-year-old, copes with his parents' recent divorce and his failure as an athlete by helping his grandfather, a Vietnam vet and recent amputee, and Sophie, a new girl a school.