Paperback, 80 pages
English language
Published Sept. 7, 1988 by HarperTrophy.
The six mean Herdman kids lie, steal, smoke cigars (even the girls) and then become involved in the community Christmas pageant.
This is a magnificent, thoughtful, and realistic portrayal of childhood, mystery, belief, and understanding. My 9 year old grandson found the tale very funny and enjoyable.
The five star rating is part nostalgia, part genuine appreciation of this genuinely funny and heartwarming book. My mother read this to my sister and me when we were little, and this time I was reading it to my kids, who kept asking for one more chapter.
When I was in high school, we had a tradition at Christmas of everyone sitting at the kitchen table after dinner while my father read this out loud. I can remember times when we all laughed so hard that we actually cried.
