The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (by Barbara Robinson)

Meet the Herdmans--six awful kids and one stressed-out cat, all prone to mischief of the worst kind. Like the time they set fire to Fred Shoemaker's toolhouse while playing with a stolen chemistry set, or when Claude Herdman "emptied the whole first grade in three minutes flat when he took the cat to Show-and Tell."

The Herdman kids attend Sunday school only because they think they'll get to eat cake there. Once Christmas pageant plans begin, they intimidate all the other children into letting them volunteer for the biggest parts. When the town reacts with horror to the news that the most sinful children will be playing the holiest roles, the pageant director becomes even more determined to make it work. Even though they look more like trick-or-treaters than Bible figures, the Herdmans don't ruin the pageant; instead, they improve it, and give the story a surprisingly sentimental ending.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER has an edge -- but presented from a child's point of view, the edge is funny, irreverent, and irresistible. Author Barbara Robinson's prose is fast, clever, and very funny. But exercise parental discretion; not all parents will want their children exposed to the antics of the main characters or will appreciate the liberties taken with what some people may consider sacred ground.

Though it's all in fun, it offers a subtle but important lesson: Just because you're bad doesn't mean you're hopeless. The Herdmans voluntarily go to the library to research their parts in the play, and Imogene's final scene shows an unlikely side to her character that's sure to stir up compassion and encourage mature readers to reflect on its meaning. Because the story centers on a popular Christian childhood event, some of the meaning and irony may be lost on readers unfamiliar with Christmas pageants. But everyone can appreciate the universal humor and underlying meaning.