Joan Bauer facts for kids

Joan Baehler Bauer, born on July 12, 1951, is an American author who writes books for young adults. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Evan Bauer. Joan was born in River Forest, Illinois. Before she became a well-known writer, she worked in different jobs, including for McGraw-Hill and the Chicago Tribune newspaper. She also worked in advertising, marketing, and even wrote scripts for movies or TV shows.

What Her Books Are About

Joan Bauer's books often feature teenage characters. These characters usually face tricky family problems, like feeling left out, dealing with sickness, or struggling with how they see themselves. Even with these serious topics, Joan Bauer adds a lot of humor and a light touch to her stories. Her young adult novels are very popular and fun to read. You can often spot them by their bright covers and her name written in different colored letters.

Awards and Recognition

Joan Bauer has won many awards for her writing. Some of these include:

• Delacorte Prize for First Young Adult Novel in 1992 for Squashed.
• Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults from the American Library Association in 1999 for Rules of the Road.
• The Newbery Honor Medal.
• The Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
• The Christopher Award.
• The Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
• The Michigan Thumbs-Up! Award for Children's Literature.
• The New England Booksellers Award.
• The Literary Light Award from the Boston Public Library.

Famous Books by Joan Bauer

Squashed

Squashed was Joan Bauer's first book, published in 1992. The story takes place in rural Iowa. It's about a sixteen-year-old girl named Ellie Morgan. Ellie wants her giant pumpkin to grow much bigger so she can win a prize. She also hopes to lose some weight to impress Wes, a new boy in town. This book won the Delacorte Prize for an Outstanding First Young Adult Novel.

Hope Was Here

The novel Hope Was Here came out in 2000. It was a Newbery Honor Book, which means it was a runner-up for the important 2001 Newbery Medal. This award celebrates the best American children's literature each year. Hope Was Here tells the story of Hope Yancey, a 16-year-old waitress in a small town in Wisconsin. The committee that chose the Newbery books said that Joan Bauer handles different parts of the story as well as Hope handles plates. They also noted that the lessons Hope learns about waitressing turn into lessons about life itself.

Thwonk

Thwonk was published in 1996. This book is about A.J. McCreary and a boy she likes named Peter Terris. A.J. meets a real-life cupid who can only grant her one wish. This wish can help her with love, school, or art. A.J. knows she should use the wish to get into a good art school. But she has been thinking about Peter for months, which makes her decision very difficult.

Peeled

Peeled was published in 2008. The story follows Hildy Biddle, who dreams of becoming a journalist. She writes for her school newspaper. Hildy becomes interested in a haunted house in her town because of ghost sightings. This is where her adventure begins. The whole town is curious about the house. Hildy is determined to get the big story, no matter what happens.

List of Books

• Squashed (Delacorte Press, 1992)
• Thwonk (Delacorte, 1995) – a young-adult fantasy novel
• Sticks (Delacorte, 1996)
• Rules of the Road (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1998)
• Backwater (Putnam, 1999)
• Hope Was Here (Putnam, 2000) – a Newbery Honor Book
• Stand Tall (Putnam, 2002)
• Best Foot Forward (Putnam, 2005)
• Peeled (Putnam, 2008)
• Close to Famous (Vikings, 2011)
• Almost Home (Viking, 2012)
• Soar (Jan, 2016)
• Tell Me (Viking, 2014)
• Raising Lumie (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2020)