Et cetera : What We're Reading: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Review of 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' by Barbara Robinson

If any of you have ever participated in a Christmas play or pageant for a school or church, or if you had the great honor of directing one, you will surely see yourself in the characters in this book. The plan seemed so simple; the pageant director was always the same person - Mrs. George Armstrong - and it always featured the same children in the same roles. Because there were no speaking parts, and everybody knew the story and the hymns to be sung, the entire pageant went smoothly and predictably, year after year.

Then, one year the entire family of Herdmans showed up at church - all 6 of them - and they all insisted on being in the show! This really upset the applecart, so to speak, because all of the kids that usually had the important roles were afraid to speak up and volunteer as usual, out of fear of the Herdmans. To further complicate matters, Mrs. George Armstrong has fallen and broken her leg! Now, Mother is in charge, and the Herdmans are in, and there will never be another pageant like this one! Just to inform you of the scope of this disaster, you should know a little about the family in question.

First of all, none of them had ever heard the Christmas Story, and had no idea what the pageant was all about. The blurb on the back cover: "The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, smoke cigars, swear, and hit little kids...their interpretation of the tale - the Wise Men are a bunch of dirty spies and Herod needs a good beating - has a lot of people up in arms." I love this book anew every time I read it. It gets a sparkling 10/10 stars from me, and a too-low rating of 4.26/5 stars from goodreads. It is available at the Vinton Public Library, and is available in audiobook through the Libby app. I agree 100% with the Denver Post: "The book is outrageous, lively, funny, and wonderful. The Christmas Story takes on a strangely moving depth of meaning and shines with a new brilliance."

Relax and read!
~Connie