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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The narrator states that Elmer, the minister's son, has always traditionally taken what role within the pageant?
(a) Joseph.
(b) An angel.
(c) A shepherd.
(d) A wise man.

2. Where other people have hydrangeas in their yards, the Herdmans have what?
(a) Venus flytraps.
(b) Thorny roses.
(c) Rattlesnakes.
(d) Poison ivy.

3. What is the single thing Mother names as the only worry someone has when planning the task she says she could complete one-handed?
(a) Making sure the pot-luck dinner serves more than just meatloaf.
(b) Running the cash register at the bake sale.
(c) Choosing the parts for the pageant.
(d) Pricing items for the Ladies' Aid Bazaar.

4. If one wants to avoid attracting the wrath of Imogene, what action should he or she take when the teacher asks a question?
(a) Raise one's hand.
(b) Remain quiet.
(c) Shout out the correct answer.
(d) Whisper the answer to Imogene.

5. In the annual Christmas pageant, children in intermediate grades have traditionally taken which roles?
(a) Wise Men.
(b) Donkeys.
(c) Angels.
(d) Shepherds.

Short Answer Questions

1. To whom did the burned building belong before the Herdmans burned it down?

2. What is NOT a reason the narrator names for her friend Alice always playing the role of Mary in the pageant?

3. Who beats up Charlie every day during Charlie's second grade year?

4. For what reason does the narrator say Miss Brandel had passed Claude on to second grade even though he had not mastered the required skills?

5. The Herdman family lives over what type of structure?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mother come to be in charge of coordinating the pageant, rather than taking on some other role?

2. What connection does the narrator make between the Herdman siblings and the movies?

3. Discuss the author's use of vivid imagery within the scene of the Herdmans' first time at Sunday school.

4. How does Mother at first feel about coordinating the Christmas pageant?

5. The narrator begins the narrative of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by describing what event?

6. Describe one particular instance of the author's use of humor and examine its effect on the reader.

7. Describe several aspects of the Christmas pageant, as it had been presented every year before the events described in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

8. What is the symbolism of the Beware of Cat sign in the Herdmans' front yard?

9. What simile does the narrator use to describe the way in which the Herdman children move through Woodrow Wilson School?

10. What is the narrator's evidence for her claim that the "Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the the history of the world" (1)?

(see the answer keys)

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