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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. When the school nurse asks Imogene whether Ollie is in bed, Imogene replies that Ollie is where?

2. What is the name of the school nurse?

3. What proclamation does Father make about Charlie's comment about his favorite part of Sunday School?

4. What information does Imogene collect about her classmates that she then uses to blackmail them to get things she wants?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author employ foreshadowing at the end of Chapter Two?

2. What happens to create several open jobs within the church during the holiday season and which jobs become vacant?

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

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

5. For what reason does Father tell Mother he does not want to attend this year's Christmas pageant?

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

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

8. What evidence is presented in Chapter One regarding the dire nature of the Herdman family's financial situation?

9. 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)?

10. What does Father say about the burning down of Fred Schneider's toolhouse?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest holds the most meaning and why?

(see the answer keys)

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