Revisit Classic Christmas Literature with the Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The best Christmas literature meets the best Christmas pageant
When Barbara Robinson penned a piece of childrens' Christmas literature, she had no way of knowing she was writing an instant classic. But that's what happened: "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" skyrocketed off the shelves and into instant, and almost magical, status.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is an extremely short chapter book, probably aimed at second or third grade students. But children and adults alike have enjoyed the tale for more than twenty years. Therefore, it's a Christmas classic.
The story
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever tells the story of "the worst kids in the history of the world," the six Herdman siblings. The unnamed narrator relates the story of how these destructive children, universally feared and despised, take over the church Christmas pageant -- and make it an adventure no one will ever forget.
As with most Christmas literature, the Herdmans undergo a change in their views throughout the story -- but it's certainly no Scrooge story. They remain hooligans, wild and disobedient, but with a difference: they've come to understand the meaning of Christmas.
Not only that, the narrator finds that the Herdmans make the Christmas story seem real again. Instead of picturing saintly people posing for portraits, she realizes that the actual Christmas story must have been more as the Herdmans portray it -- frightening, dirty, and still, somehow, beautiful.
Important themes
"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" has one trait that sets it firmly apart from other Christmas literature. While in most Christmas stories, it's the unruly sinner who learns his lesson and comes to see the magic of Christmas, in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, it's those who already believe -- in fact, those who have become so complacent they think they have nothing left to learn -- who undergo the true transformation.
By the end of the story, the townspeople have come to realize that their hasty judgments of the Herdmans might not be entirely justified, and everyone comes away with the feeling that it really was the best Christmas pageant ever -- although no one is quite sure why.
If you're looking for a new classic, read this piece of beautiful Christmas literature with your kids this season!