Comedy / All Groups / 4m, 6f, plus 8 boys and 9 girls In this hilarious Christmas tale, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids - probably the most inventively awful kids in history. You won't believe the mayhem - and the fun - when the Herdmans collide with the Christmas story head on! This delightful comedy is adapted from the best selling book and the only story ever to run twice in McCall's Magazine. "An American classic." -McCall's Magazine "One of the best Christmas stories ever - and certainly one of the funniest." - Seattle Times

Called one of America's favorite Christmas stories, and now a classic television movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has been a favorite of young readers the world over since 1972. Funny, memorable, and outrageous, it is the story of a family of incorrigible children who discover the Christmas story for the first time and help everyone else rediscover its true meaning.

"Hey Unto you a child is born "

Meet the Herdmans--they lie, cheat, and love to give clonks on the head. They are, without a doubt, the worst kids in the history of the world. So no one is prepared when this outlaw family invades church one Sunday and decides to take over the annual Christmas pageant.

None of the Herdmans has ever heard the Christmas story before. Joseph, Mary, the baby Jesus--it's all news to them. So they're convinced that the Wise Men should bring pizza and that the Angel of the Lord is straight out of a comic book. Everyone worries that this year's pageant will be horrible (just like the Herdmans ), but they are sure to make it the most unusual anyone has seen and, just possibly, the best one ever.

Adapted from the beloved novel of the same name, this sparkling picture-book version is perfect for younger children. They will delight in the antics of the terrible Herdmans, who surprise everyone when they capture the true meaning of Christmas.

When anything goes wrong at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, from the hexing of Bus Six to the mysterious disappearance of the kindergarten gerbil, it's sure to have a Herdman behind it. The Herdmans are more than famous-they're outlaws. They smoke cigars, lie, and set fire to things, and that's only when they bother to come to school!

Then a school project forces the students to think of compliments for all their classmates-including the Herdmans. Is it possible that behind their outrageous pranks there may be something good about this crazy clan after all?

Children's Choices for 1995 (IRA/CBC)
1994 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)
Winner, 1996 Colorado Children's Book Award
1996 Flicker Tale Children’s Book Award (ND))

1997 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award (IL)
1997 Children’s Choice Book Award (IA)
1997 South Dakota Prairie Pasque Book Award
South Carolina’s 1996-97 Children’s Book Award
1996-97 Golden Sower Award (NB)
1997 Volunteer State Book Award (TN)
1997 Children’s Crown Award (NCSA)
1998 PA Young Reader’s Choice Award
1998 NM Land of Enchantment Book Award
1998 GA Children’s Book Award
1999 Nene Award (HI)

The bestselling author of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" now delivers this hilarious Halloween romp.