The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

How did the toolhouse burn down, as explained in Chapter 1? Why is it significant that the Herdmans were experimenting with a chemistry set? 

Does the narrator’s family like the pageant? Would you say they actively dislike it, or is it something closer to indifference? What, if anything, do they look forward to in the pageant? What do they find tedious or exasperating about it?

The Herdmans are unruly, anti-social kids who openly commit crimes and show no inclination to change. Why are they so outraged about King Herod? Is the narrator right to be surprised by their contempt for him? 

Imogene shows vulnerability and uncharacteristic emotion when she weeps during “Silent Night.” Why does she cry? Do you think the reader is meant to know why? Discuss your reasons. 

Why does the librarian consider retirement after her visit from the Herdmans? Why is this visit special to her? 

After scoffing at the Wise Men’s gifts, the Herdmans bring their charity ham for Jesus. Why do they feel the need to make a real sacrifice in a pageant? Why won’t they take the ham with them after the show? 

The narrator says no one is sure why the pageant was so special, even as she says that the Herdmans were the improvement it needed. Why does she say no one knows why this year felt more meaningful? 

Would you classify the narrator as a reliable narrator? Why or why not? Did you picture the narrator as a woman looking back at her childhood or as a child telling a story as it happened?