Thursday, December 04, 2014

Christmas Books

I don't normally like Christmas books for kids.  I'm not against Santa--I make my kids watch "The Year Without a Santa Clause" with me every year (among a few other old Christmas movies made for TV).  At least with the movies, we laugh and/or we are treated to some good lessons on family and the spirit of giving at Christmastime.  A lot of books sitting on the public libraries shelves for kids labeled "Christmas" are void of any real meaning or content.  But one book stands out.  I read it every year to my classes when I taught in public school back in the day when the words "Sunday School" and "God" weren't taboo.  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever makes me laugh and at the end of the story, makes me cry.  The book, written by Barbara Robinson, has a depth of meaning that many other children's Christmas books eschew. 

The Herdmans, notoriously the worst six kids in school, have a father suspected to be in jail and a mother too busy making ends meet to care.  The nicest thing about the Herdman children, in the opinion of their classmates, however, is that they never show up in Sunday School--a place where all children are safe from the rude and sometimes criminal antics of the Herdmans.  But one day, the Herdmans hear about the refreshments offered in Sunday School, and suddenly, the Herdmans are church-goers.  But no one was prepared for the tender, new perspective that the ill-behaved Hermans would teach them about the Christmas story. 

I think the book is hilarious and probably more so than do my kids. Robinson must have been a Sunday School teacher in the elementary grades before writing this book.  She nails the thoughts, actions, and attitudes of children in general as she weaves her story.  To me, the book seems old-fashioned in a nostalgic sort of way.  I noticed as I was reading it to Chloe today, that advertised on the back cover, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has been made into a movie.  Skip the movie.  Read the book instead.  It's a wonderful way to impart the true meaning of Christmas to your family. 


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