Charlotte's Reader Response
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
By Barbara Robinson
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Why do people perform Christmas pageants?Loading...
People perform Christmas pageants so they can tell the story of the Nativity. They can share the story of the first Christmas with everyone and explain why we celebrate Christmas.Loading...
The Herdmans probably never wanted to do the Christmas pageant, they just somehow ended up doing it. When the Herdmans get involved with the Christmas pageant, I think that they will set fire to the Nativity. I think this because they set fire to the old tool house. They might also bring there wild cat to be one of the animals, and then there cat will go crazy. They probably have also never heard of the Christmas story. Every year a church does a Christmas Pageant. But this year the directer broke her leg... and the Herdmans are doing it. The Herdmans are horrible kids that don't even know the Christmas Story or go to church until they found out that there was "cake". They steal, set fire to things, and have a creepy cat. But they get all the main leads by bribing, and find out about the story. They want to change it though, making room in the inn for Mary and beheading the king who was out to kill Jesus. Another problem is that they can't find a baby to Jesus because no one will let the Herdmans touch there baby. Alice Wendleken is also determined to get her part of Mary back. Then at the dress rehearsal, people forget their costumes, Alice puts vaseline in her eyelids, the pot-luck committee is there, and someone calls the fire department because they saw smoke from Imogene's cigarette. They have never done the pageant once without stopping... and it's the pageant now. Half the chorus sings one song while the other half sings another. The three Wise Men give the baby doll Jesus a ham, and Mary and Joseph miss there cue. Instead of Gladys saying unto all of us a child is born, she says, Hey! Unto you a child is born! The Herdmans did natural things instead of following the script. Everyone thought is was a very unique Christmas pageant.
OR WILL THEY
DO THE STUPID
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT???
DO THE STUPID
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT???
NARRATOR
By What Other Characters Do:
"I said, and Mother told me not to be so fresh," (36).
"I said, and Mother told me not to be so fresh," (36).
By What The Character Does:
"But there wasn't much I could do about it, except pinch Alice, which I did," (58).
"But there wasn't much I could do about it, except pinch Alice, which I did," (58).
By What Other Characters Say:
"I though so," Mother said. "It doesn't mean that at all. It really means that every single person is just as important as every other person-that the littlest baby angel is just as important as Mary," (36).
"I though so," Mother said. "It doesn't mean that at all. It really means that every single person is just as important as every other person-that the littlest baby angel is just as important as Mary," (36).
ALICE WENDLEKEN
By What Other Characters Think: "I guess Alice was afraid to move, for fear she might spoil herself," (83).
By What The Character Does: "She had even put vaseline on her eyelids, so they would shine in the candlelight and everyone would say 'Who is that lovely girl in the angel choir? Why isn't she Mary?'," (83).
By What Other Characters Do: "Mrs. Wendleken read Alice's notes, got on the telephone that very night and called up everybody she could think of in the Ladies' Aid and the Women's Society. And she called most of the flower committee, and all the Sunday school teachers, and Reverend Hopkins," (92).
By What Other Characters Say: "'Go and tell that to Alice Wendleken,' I said, and Mother told me not to be so fresh," (36).
Gladys Herdman
By What Other Characters Say: "One kid was honest. 'Gladys Herdman hits too hard,' he said," (45).
By What The Character Does: "There was on Herdman left over, and one main role left over, and you didn't have to be very smart to figure out that Gladys was going to be the Angel of the Lord," (43).
By What Other Characters Do: "because when Gladys was two years old he climbed on a railroad train and disappeared. Nobody blamed him," (18).
By What Other Characters Think: "That really made you shudder-the thought of Gladys Herdman piercing ears," (85).