Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it!, April 28, 2005
This review is from: The Best School Year Ever (Paperback)
The six Herdmans are back in this hilarious sequel of Best Christmas Pageant ever.
The main characters, Beth Bradley (the narrator) and Imogene Herdman (second oldest Herdman) are both in sixth grade. The class is given an yearlong assignment "compliments for Classmates" and Beth begins to worry immediatedly. How can she possibly compliment the second-meanest girl she knows (Gladys is meaner)?
Each chapter is about a little "crime" the Herdmans do this school year, and those "crimes", oddly enough, help Beth to understand that there is far more in Imogene than meanness and mischieve, she is in fact very intelligent and probably has a very loving heart underneath her tough-girl attitude. Readers learn that there's good in everyone, even in bullies.
Barbara Robinson does a fine job writing this story. Kids see a funny story, the older ones see a funny story with a serious undertone. Everyone has let the Herdmans down: their father abandoning them, their mother neglecting them, social workers not doing their job, teachers letting them pass grades even though they don't learn anything, adults in town who are too uptight to realize the real reason behind the childrens' bad behaviour. They've practically raised each other since their parents seem to be pretty useless, and feel insecure in the company of well-bred, neat children with a stay-at-home mom etc. They bully the other children to protect themselves and each other, and figure negative attention is better than no attention.
You can only hope something og someone will help them put of their misery, but not until after a few more sequels ;)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Book Ever, December 5, 2002
A Kid's Review
This review is from: The Best School Year Ever (Paperback)
This book is truly the best book ever. If I could I would rate this book up to 1 million. I like this book because it's about how a family called the Herdmans always gets in trouble or is just up to no good. I also like the book because it's split up into stories about the Herdmans. My favorite one was when a kid got his head stuck in a bike rack and one of the Herdmans named Gladys said they were going to cut his ears off to get him out. Then when the teachers called the fire department they shouted out the window,"They're coming to cut you loose." I thought that was so funny. I would read this book if I were you to get some great laughs. You heard it from me and the whole world. From, Joanna
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The further adventures of the Herdman family, May 28, 2006
This review is from: The Best School Year Ever (Paperback)
This follows THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, again told by Beth and focusing on the Herdman clan. Beth is now in the 6th grade at Woodrow Wilson Elementary and of course, once again Imogene Herdman is a classmate. There is a Herdman for each grade, 6 in all, and even though they never do assignments or seem to learn anything they are always promoted to the next grade. Beth's father offers a theory that the faculty at Woodrow Wilson have a clause in their contracts assuring that there will be only one Herdman per class.
There Herdmans hold the school and perhaps even the community in terror with their misdeeds. Beth relates their adventures for the year including kidnapping someone's little brother, 'tattoing' his bald head with magic marker, destroying a school assembly, taking over a school bus, and probably causing an epidemic of chicken pox to name but a few. Hanging over Beth's head is the year long assignment given the first day of school - to find a compliment for each classmate and several for one classmate in particular. Beth's special assignment is Imogene. As Beth struggles to find honest nice things to say about Imogene she begins to see new qualities in her classmate and by the end of the year has begun to develop insights far beyond her years.
This book is hysterically funny. Not funny in the sense that it causes the reader to smile or chuckle but rather funny as in laughing out loud to the point of tears. Beth's matter-of-fact descriptions of the Herdman capers are delivered with a delightfully wry sense of humor.
The reading level for this book is listed as 3-6 but the interest level is much greater. A younger child would be able to follow and enjoy being read this short novel and an adult (like this one) would find this hilarious. Buy this to encourage a reluctant read, buy this to become somebody's favorite aunt or uncle, buy this distract a sick child or - well whatever excuse you can come up with buy this book but remember to get it far enough in advance to allow yourself time to read it first.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
