Reviewed by Jeanne
With the release of the new movie, I decided it was time to
re-read this children’s classic tale of “the worst kids in the world”—aka the
Herdmans.
Although it’s only 80 pages, Robinson packs a lot into those
pages. Told from the wide-eyed perspective of schoolgirl
Beth, we are introduced to the six Herdman children who Beth says are the worst
kids in the world. She then proceeds to
list some of things the Herdmans do:
they cuss teachers, steal other kids’ lunches, set fires, and smoke
cigars, even the girls.
Yep, those Herdmans are a handful. The one place they haven’t
been trouble is in Sunday School, but that’s just because they don’t
attend. In fact, Beth’s brother Charlie
lists “No Herdmans” as his favorite thing about Sunday School, which was not
really the answer the teacher was looking for, even though it is true.
That’s about to change, and ironically it’s Charlie who causes
it by bragging that he doesn’t need his dessert because he gets all the dessert
he wants at church: pie, cake, cookies….
The Herdmans are intrigued.
So much so that they turn up for Sunday School just as Beth’s mother is
trying to put together the annual Christmas pageant—and the Herdmans take all
the roles, even though they have never heard the story of the Nativity.
Will the Wise Men and Joseph get in a fight? Will Mary hit
someone with Baby Jesus? Will the Angel
of the Lord whack the Shepherds with her halo?
It seems as if everyone in town can hardly wait to find out.
I had fond memories of this book and I’m happy to say that I
found this book just as charming the second time around. Even better, I discovered there are two
sequels: The Best Halloween Ever
(only the Herdmans could get Halloween cancelled) and The Best School Year
Ever.
Note: This is actually the second time this book has been filmed. It was also done as a TV movie with Loretta Swit and the library does own a DVD of that version. Both films are very good, but there's nothing like a book.
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