The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

First published: 1972; illustrated

Subjects: Family, friendship, poverty, and religion

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Domestic realism and social realism

Time of work: The 1970’s

Recommended Ages: 10-13

Locale: An American town

Principal Characters:

• The narrator, a twelve-year-old girl whose mother is in charge of the Christmas pageant
• Ralph Herdman, the oldest brother in the Herdman family, who decides to be Joseph since Imogene wants to be Mary
• Imogene Herdman, the oldest sister, who decides to play Mary when she hears the Christmas story and who threatens to beat up anyone else who might want the part
• Leroy, ,
• Claude, and
• Ollie Herdman, brothers who play the Wise Men because no one else will volunteer
• Gladys Herdman, the youngest and meanest Herdman of all, who plays the angel

Form and Content

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is the story of the year that the Herdmans took part in the town’s Christmas pageant. The book consists of seven short chapters, each smoothly written and easy to read. Although the illustrations are limited to a small number of black-and-white sketches, Barbara Robinson provides descriptions that create images in the reader’s mind. Most of the book is presented as a narrative, written in the first person by an anonymous twelve-year-old girl who relates conversationally the humorous stories and situations in which the Herdmans and their classmates become involved. Adults play a minor part in the story, being limited to teachers and the narrator’s parents. The viewpoint of the narrator is that of an observer who, in her words, is a medium kid who keeps her mouth shut. In this capacity, she is able to observe and report on the actions of the Herdmans and others without actually being a part of the story. While some bias from the narrator is obvious at the beginning of the story, as the Christmas pageant unfolds the narrator begins to examine some of her perceptions and to report with less bias. The story itself focuses on the actions and emotions of the characters, particularly the Herdmans, and does not attempt to teach the Christmas story.

This short, humorous piece of fiction is fast-paced and believable. From the first page, readers are drawn into the lives of the Herdmans as they set the toolhouse on fire, steal a chemistry set, bring an untamed cat to show-and-tell and let it run free in the classroom, start rumors about classmates in order to blackmail them, and take dessert from other people’s lunch boxes. These situations are typical of adolescents, things that many teenagers do and that others wish they were brave enough to do.

For most of the kids in the town where the story takes place, Sunday is the best day of the week because the Herdmans do not attend Sunday school: It is a day of rest from the antics of the Herdmans. Then the Herdmans learn from the brother of the narrator that people who attend Sunday school can get all the free desserts they want. This begins the Herdmans’ interaction with Sunday school, because they want to see if there really is such a thing as free food. On the first Sunday that the Herdmans attend, the yearly Christmas pageant is discussed, and Imogene is immediately attracted to the plight of Mary in the Christmas story. From that point on, her main objective is for the Herdmans—herself, Ralph, Ollie, Leroy, Claude, and Gladys—to have the major parts in the Christmas pageant, and they threaten their classmates with innumerable problems if anyone else volunteers for the parts. Each day, and particularly on the weekends, new ideas brought about by Imogene’s research and interpretation of the Christmas story instigate different and entertaining situations. Since the Herdmans had never heard of the Christmas story, they interpret it as if it came right out of an adventure novel, with the Wise Men being referred to as a bunch of spies. Hilarious situations ensue throughout rehearsals and up to the main performance, at which time something rather interesting happens, and not only to the Herdmans.

Critical Context

Realistic fiction such as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever did not exist prior to the 1970’s, when much of the fiction written for adolescents began to focus on children’s discovery of self and the development of maturity in relation to siblings and peers. Robinson’s book effectively addressed these issues in the 1970’s and continues to do so. The novel was made into a film for television and, in some places, is played on commercial television each December. The film closely follows the book and, instead of replacing it, appears to encourage adolescents to read Robinson’s story. In many schools around the country, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is one of the most popular books to be checked out during the holiday season. It provides students who are not familiar with the tradition of the Christmas pageant with information on its history, while at the same time focusing on family and peer relationships in a modern society. It was also cited on a list of top ten books of realistic fiction for younger adolescents.

Robinson continues to write books for readers in this age range. My Brother Louis Measures Worms and Other Louis Stories (1988) also humorously depicts family situations while at the same time focusing on the very real concerns of adolescents.