When eleven-year-old Charlie Roebecker befriends Chief Goodyear, a homeless evacuee from Hurricane Katrina, he is not expecting any miracles. As Charlie says, "You can do only small things to fix a big problem." Chief Goodyear is an arborist--a fixer of trees. His arrival in Charlie's town starts the boy on a mission to help the homeless stranger get a new start. As Christmas nears, Charlie's family makes their annual trip to a tree lot. Charlie brings home a scrawny little pine with a crooked trunk and no top--The Puny--which he plans to decorate and give to the Chief. Charlie's sister...

When eleven-year-old Charlie Roebecker befriends Chief Goodyear, a homeless evacuee from Hurricane Katrina, he is not expecting any miracles. As Charlie says, "You can do only small things to fix a big problem." Chief Goodyear is an arborist--a fixer of trees. His arrival in Charlie's town starts the boy on a mission to help the homeless stranger get a new start. As Christmas nears, Charlie's family makes their annual trip to a tree lot. Charlie brings home a scrawny little pine with a crooked trunk and no top--The Puny--which he plans to decorate and give to the Chief. Charlie's sister...