Barbara Robinson was in her mid-40s when she published The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. And it’s the type of novel someone middle-aged in the early 1970s would write. It’s very dated by today’s standards as the narrator Elizabeth “Beth” Bradley is recalling the story as it happened when she was younger.
But stories about men going home after church to watch the football game while their wives toll in the kitchen were running out of steam by the time the first book was sold. Yet, it’s a story that is set in one of those towns/communities where there seems to be only a handful of churches, a school where only a couple of dozen are students are in each grade, and there aren’t that many amenities so everyone is into everyone else’s business.
Beth talks about the Herdman children, a group of six siblings, whose father reportedly ran away and their mother works a double-shift at the nearby factory. The children are pretty much on their own, which means they hardly eat hardy, never go to church, smoke cigars and use foul language even though it’s not included here. It’s a children’s book, remember?
One day, Beth’s brother says at Sunday school the best thing he likes about church is that the Herdman children aren’t there. The Herdmans mostly led by eldest sister Imogen bully, harass and extort money out of people. The school even passes them despite their lack of learning because they’re afraid of having two Herdman children in the same grade.
Then, they actually do show up to church and become fascinated by God, Jesus and the stories of the Bible. Beth’s mother is chosen to direct the church’s Christmas pageant. But as the Herdman become fascinated by Jesus and how awful King Herrod was, they want to appear in the pageant with Imogen as Mary and Ralph, the oldest brother as Joseph. And Beth’s mother allows them. Gladys, the youngest is cast as the Angel of the Lord and the rest of the brothers play the Three Wise Men.
The story of the Herdman children in the pageant makes the rounds especially after a disastrous dress rehearsal where one of the church women’s auxiliary members smells Imogen smoking a cigar in the restroom. She thinks the church is on fire so she calls the fire department but the auxiliary was cooking in the kitchen and they manage to burn the apple cider.
Many people show up but only see that the Herdman add some different routines to the pageant and they even bring the ham they usually get from the church care pantry as a gift to Baby Jesus, which Imogen holds and brings to cry during the pageant. Yes, it’s sappy and a little pretentious.
But the story’s moral is about never judging a book by its cover. And sometimes all it takes is getting to know some people and finding something they’re interested in to get them motivated. We never find out what happens later, even though I’m told the latest movie version says all the children turned out well when they grew up.
The refusal of the children to take back the ham because it’s a present and you don’t return a present says a lot.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 