The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Robinson is a fictional novel set in the 1970s at Woodrow Wilson School. The story is written from the narrator's point of view in a third-person narrative. Before Robinson published this novel in 1971, it was featured in McCall's magazine, widely read in the USA, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. In 1982, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was adapted into several television movies. Robinson explores the themes of change and determination, amongst others. In addition, she incorporates multiple literary devices to enhance readers’ experience. The
Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a gratifying novel that explores an annual Christmas activity that is unexpectedly interrupted and hijacked by the unruly Herdmans' kids. The narrator introduces the six Herdmans' kids as the most notorious and ill-mannered. These six dishonorable kids are famous for smoking, bullying other children, shoplifting, and disrespecting adults. A single mother, a careless drunkard, brings up the Herdmans' kids, and all her six children take after her bad behavior. Charlie, the narrator's little brother, is a target of Leroy Herdman, who regularly steals his desserts. One day when Leroy steals Charlie's dessert, Charlie tells him that he will get another one at church on Sunday. Leroy goes back and informs all his siblings that there will be many desserts at the church on Sunday, and they plan to visit the church.
Robinson's theme of determination is built around Herdsmans' kids' undying desire to storm the church, demand their share of the deserts on a Sunday, and participate in the Christmas pageant rehearsals. Paradoxically, the Herdmans' kids know nothing about the Christmas story, but they intend to play the roles of Mary, the Wise Men, Joseph, and the Lord's Angel. The narrator and her friends are discontented with the Herdmans because they have never come to church, but they want to take all roles in the play, including hers. At first, when the Herdmans listen to the Christmas story before fully understanding their roles, they get angry with Herod, who wants to kill baby Jesus, and they are not satisfied with the conditions under which Jesus is born. In addition, the Herdmans get confused why the three Wise Men must travel from very far to come and see an ordinary baby. However, they are determined to understand their roles in the play and get every concept to ensure they outperform the previous similar events.
During the actual pageant day, the Herdmans do a marvelous job by adding their unique flavor to the play, making it the most outstanding Christmas pageant ever. Consequently, the change theme becomes prominent during the show because no one ever believed that Herdmans, known as notorious, could stage such a good show. The people in attendance, including pastors, applaud the good work of Herdmans by giving them different gifts and food.
The reader realizes that Robinson incorporates other literary devices in the novel, including imagery, paradox, and symbolism. For instance, the sense of sight is depicted throughout the novel as Robinson describes all the events, from rehearsals of the pageant to the show's staging. The paradox is dominant when the people who never thought that the Herdsman could stage a good show are flabbergasted to witness the reality. The most dominant symbol of the Herdsman's kids represents the undying determination to achieve what they want.
