Herdmans

The horrible Herdmans are the meanest kids around. They lie, steal, cuss, and smoke cigars---even the girls. The last place anyone expected to see them is in church. So when the Herdmans storm Sunday school and take over the annual Christmas pageant, everyone braces for the worst. But no one is prepared for what really happens when the rottenest kids in the world take over the greatest story ever told. It's a pageant full of surprises for everyone--including the Herdmans themselves.

The six Herdman children are "absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world." They lie and steal and smoke cigars. They even burned down Fred Shoemaker's old toolhouse. Now they're taking over the Christmas pageant. The Herdmans have never heard the Christmas story before, and they don't know anything about shepherds or Wise Men. When Imogene hears about the swaddling clothes, she demands to know why anyone would tie up a baby and put him in a feedbox. Leroy, Claude, and Ollie are planning on a gift that means much more than gold, frankincense, and myrrh-the ham from their Christmas basket. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, now also a television movie, has been a favorite of children and their parents since 1972. As C.J. Critt's spirited narration captures the lively and outrageous spin that the Herdmans put on the Nativity scene, listeners will delight in this unusual and refreshing interpretation of Christmas.

The Worst Kids in the History of the World! 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?

Everyone at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School knows the Herdmans. There's one in each grade-they smoke, steal, blow things up, and terrorize the other kids. So when the fourth grade assignment for the year is to write compliments for each student in the class, Beth knows it will be hard to find something good to say about Imogene Herdman. Despite the chaos they cause, though, the Herdmans' plans also have an uncanny knack for turning out right. When Beth finally sees Imogene do something worthy of a compliment, she is surprised by both the kindness of her act and the gentleness of this dirty, ragged girl.

The Herdmans plus Halloween have always spelled disaster. Every year, these six kids - the worst in the history of Woodrow Wilson School and possibly even the world - wreak havoc on the whole town. They steal candy, spray-paint kids, and take anything that's not nailed down. Now the mayor has had it. He's decided to cancel Halloween. There won't be any Herdmans to contend with this year, but there won't be any candy, either. And what's Halloween without candy? And without trick-or-treating? The Herdmans manage to turn the worst Halloween ever into the best Halloween ever in this uproarious sequel to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.