Character Analysis
Robert Baker is Juli's dad, and a guy who seriously loves spending time with his family—just put him in a room with his wife, Trina, and his three kiddos and he's a happy camper. Or give him some time to spend with his brother, David, and he'll make your heart melt.
It comes as no surprise, then, that Mr. Baker is a super supportive dad. So when Matt and Mike share their music at the Loskis' dinner party, he's beaming like a proud papa; and when Juli wants to gush about her experiences in the sycamore tree, Mr. B agrees to climb up there with her. He's not about to let anything get in the way of his relationship with his kids.
In Mr. Baker we've got a family man who is supportive as all get-out. But that's not all—he's also an artsy fellow who can paint a mean landscape. And he's quite the philosopher, too. Take all that together, and you've got the perfect guy to help Juli deal with the loss of her sycamore tree:
He took a deep breath. "I want the spirit of that tree to be with you always. I want you to remember how you felt when you were up there." He hesitated a moment, then handed me the painting. "So I made this for you." (4.97)
Juli has talked a lot about her tree with her dad. These deep chats let us know that Mr. B is a good confidante, and this painting is just one more way of showing his daughter that he cares. Though Juli struggles plenty in this book, she always knows she's got her dad in her corner.