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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. At what time of year is the usual pageant coordinator injured, leading to Mother's assumption of the role instead?

2. Father jokes that he had attended the pageant the year discussed by the narrator only to see what?

3. What symptom does Imogene tell the school nurse her brother Ollie has been displaying?

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

5. What sensory detail does the narrator NOT describe experiencing, pointing to the conclusion that the usual pageant coordinator has been injured?

Short Essay Questions

1. What evidence does the narrator provide for her conclusion that it is Charlie's fault that the Herdmans get involved in the Christmas pageant?

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

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

4. What is the one virtue displayed by the Herdman children within the burned toolhouse incident?

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

6. For what reason do the Herdman siblings believe they have found evidence proving Charlie's promises of food at church to be valid?

7. How does the author go about portraying the Herdmans as unteachable?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How might Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever be classified as a coming-of-age story?

Essay Topic 2

Determine the author's message regarding the idea that compassion leads to more favorable results than judgment.

Essay Topic 3

What is the author's message regarding poverty in Barbara Robinson’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and what themes or symbols does the author employ in order to send these messages to the reader?

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This section contains 1,177 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample