Author: Barbara Robinson
Recommended Age: 12-14 (While the reading level may be a bit older, this story is a hilarious and touching read-aloud, perfect for all ages!)
Date Published: 1972
Genre: Contemporary, Christmas
Summary: The Herdmans are absolutely the worst children in the history of the world. And when they invade church one Sunday, and after that take over every lead role in the Christmas pageant, people don’t know whether the children will succeed in burning down the church or making this the best Christmas pageant ever.
Notes from The Radical Reader:
- Noble Characters: Obviously the Herdmans are not role models for readers. But when Barbara Robinson shows them in stark contrast to the pious children of the local church, readers are asked to question who really understands the Christmas story better. Is it the Sunday school students who have heard the same story hundreds of times, or the Herdmans who are hearing it for the first time?
- Captivating Plots: They lie, they cheat, they smoke, they swear, they burn down buildings… and pretty much every other awful thing you can think of. And so when they hear the Christmas story, the Herdmans are ready to murder Herod for what he did to Jesus and throw the Bethlehem innkeeper into the next county for not giving Mary and Joseph a proper welcome. Suddenly the people at the church are awakened to a whole new view of Christmas… and it took the Herdman children to show them.
- Elaborate Worlds: Set in a small town with a small, local church and a stereotypical church Christmas pageant, readers will be asked to reevaluate everything they previously assumed about the Christmas story.
Noteworthy Elements:
- Sexual Tension: When talking about which children can borrow bathrobes to play shepherds in the Christian pageant, a boy comments that his dad wanders around the house in his underwear. This leads a woman of the church to mistakenly believe that all that is talked about during the Christmas pageant is “sex and underwear”. When reading the Christmas story, one of the Herdmans substitutes “pregnant” for “great with child” when talking about Mary. The children at the church conjecture whether it’s appropriate to talk about Mary being pregnant, as “it sounded too ordinary”. Mrs. Weldelken, one of the uptight and controlling women at the church, is described as not wanting “cats to have kittens or birds to lay eggs” and she would never allow her daughter to “play with anybody who had two rabbits”.
- Profanity: It is told to the reader that the Herdman children swear frequently. Imogen Herdman says “My God” twice, though no other swears are explicitly written. Families with young children can easily skip over these if desired when reading aloud.
Final Thoughts: This is one of my family’s favorite Christmas stories! Even despite the noteworthy elements mentioned above, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever asks readers to reevaluate the stereotypical image of the nativity they may have created for themselves. By contrasting the perfect church kids with a family like the Herdmans, readers are asked to look at their own lives and see if they truly understand the Christmas story as it actually happened. I hope this story will bless you and your family as you celebrate Christ’s birth this Christmas season.
