By Barbara Robinson
(1972) ISBN 006447044X
This is a tale with many humorous sides to it. It is necessary to make this clear because at first this story seems to be only about troublemaking but the essence of this book is the opposite.
We start when the six Herdman kids, who all the school see as the worst kids in the whole world, decide to take part in the Christmas pageant (because of all the goodies to be gotten). The reader is told the Herdman father ran off, the mother works two jobs, instead of working one job and accepting assistance and that many in the town think they understand the absence of the parents once they meet the Herdman kids.
The Herdmans are basically raising themselves hitting one another, setting buildings on fire, stealing, hitting their classmates and even engaging in blackmail. The narrator’s mother has been corralled into managing the Christmas pageant and she is faced with the Herdmans volunteering for the key roles, after they secretly threatened everyone into not volunteering. The rehearsals are indeed colored since to the Herdmans, the Christmas story is something new and they insist on putting things into a more down to earth perspective.
By the time of the actual performance, everyone comes to see just what will happen. As narrated, the Herdmans in participating in a manner comfortable to them actually make the play very real. They do not bring gold and myrrh, they present the Christ Child with a ham (their own) and burp the Infant. Everyone in the audience leaves knowing this has been the best Christmas play ever.
The illustrations are invaluable in helping convey the humorous side to this whole story. This is achieved in part by use of some exaggeration in these pictures. For example, the Herdmans are drawn as almost demonic but still very funny. This technique is vital to help keep the mood of the book in a light mood.
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