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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which character asks Mother if she thinks the church should call off the pageant?

2. What is NOT an act included on the pad of paper that lists the bad actions of the Herdman siblings during rehearsals?

3. What does Alice do with the information she has about the Herdman siblings' involvement with the fire department being called to the church?

4. In the pageant incarnation described at the center of the narrative, who plays the role of the Angel of the Lord?

5. How does Imogene feel about Mother's announcement that the pageant will use a doll for the role of Jesus?

Short Essay Questions

1. What event causes the narrator to consider what the world would be like if Jesus had not lived past infancy?

2. In what ways does Mother display the qualities of fortitude and perseverance?

3. What behaviors of the Herdman siblings indicate their keen interest in the subject of the Christmas story?

4. What does the narrator understand about the Herdman siblings that Alice does not?

5. What evidence does the author provide for the conclusion that having the first meeting about the pageant after church is a poor decision?

6. Discuss the significance of Mrs. Armstrong's comment to Mother when she says, "And then I always remind them that there are no small parts, only small actors" (25).

7. Discuss how Mother's character is depicted as having unending supplies of patience and compassion.

8. How does the narrator's interaction with the Herdmans change the narrator's perspective of the Christmas story?

9. What message is being sent about arrogance within Mother's exclamation when she shouts, "That woman! She must be surprised that the sun is still coming up every morning without her to supervise the sunrise" (45)?

10. Discuss a moment in the narrative when the narrator thinks that her friend Alice is behaving badly.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's choice to tell the story of Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever using the first person point-of-view. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to this choice and what are the author's intended and invoked effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how and why Barbara Robinson instills humanist messages within the narrative of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's messages about acceptance and love within Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

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