Danny longs for his baby brother Joe to have a Christmas tree in this lovely holiday picture book, but his mother tells him that while she can afford to give the two boys gifts, there simply isn't any money left over for a tree this year. Matters seem to be looking up when his friend Steve, repentant for having punched Danny in a brief fit of anger, gives him a little evergreen from his garden, but then a near miss on the highway leaves the little tree destroyed, and his plan in ruins. Little does Danny realize however, that the truck drivers he meets, having learned of his plan, have decided to play the role of the Three Kings...

I haven't seen very many children's books which highlight both the magic of the Christmas season and the experiences of working class people, so Danny and the Kings was quite a treat. Danny and his family are clearly poor, living in a small trailer in a trailer park next to a busy highway. His mother mentions his father at one point, hinting at the possible death of this absent parent, sometime in the past. Despite this fact, the narrative here is matter-of-fact, depicting these circumstances, not as a tragedy, but as the simple reality with which our eponymous protagonist must contend. Danny's desire to do something generous for his little brother is rewarded by the three truckers, working men who might be the Three Kings, or who might simply be acting as the Three Kings, in much the same way parents act as Santa Claus to their children. I liked the open-ended way that the narrative approached this question, as it hints at one of the central truths of Christianity: that its adherents are meant to emulate Christ, to act as he would, as much as they are able, given the lesser gifts at their disposal. Susan Cooper's unsentimental telling makes this message more powerful I think, and her text is well-matched by illustrator Jos. A. Smith's watercolor artwork, which is beautiful but realistic. This pair also worked together on Matthew's Dragon, which I now hope to track down. As for this one, I would recommend it to picture book readers looking for stories about Christmas, and how the Christmas spirit can often be found in all kinds of places and in the hearts of all kinds of people. ( )