Stand Tall

Author: Joan Bauer
Year Published: 2002
Publisher: Putnam's Sons
ISBN#: 014240148X
Pages: 182
Media Type: Book
Classification: Fiction
Subject: Grandfathers, Families, Identity

Reader's Annotation:
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 at school.

Plot Summary:
Tree is the tallest seventh grader in his school. Because he is 6 feet three and a half inches tall people expect him to be good at basketball and to act older than he really is. But he doesn’t even like basketball and he feels terrible about his parents’ recent divorce. Tree supports his grandfather, a Vietnam veteran who has just had to have part of his leg amputated and befriends a new girl at school. His grandfather has taught him that working on things helps, so Tree spends time seeing how lamps get rewired and laser pens work. Gradually Tree begins to heal from the divorce and learn to “stand tall.”

Reading Level: 4
Interest Level: 5-9
Author's website: http://www.joanbauer.com/