The Best School Year Ever (The Best Ever)

Have you ever met a real outlaw? This book introduces you to the Herdman kids, known at Woodrow Wilson Elementary as the outlaws. Pick up a copy of The Best Worst School Year Ever to discover why the term “outlaw” applies to the Herdman kids.Woodrow Wilson Elementary School is the featured setting for the story of the Herdman kids. Lots of mischief happens at Woodrow Wilson Elementary when the Herdman kids show up for school. Things like cigar smoking, fires starting and lies being told are all part of their mode of operation. The Herdman children are known for disruption and throughout the story they can be counted on to create trouble. There are six Herdman children and there is one Herdman child in each grade.The story gives you the idea that the Herdman home is not kept up well and that their yard is like a trash dump. The children are from a single parent family. Their Mom works three shifts at the shoe factory to make money. As the school year begins, this year’s assignment is to compose three compliments for the schoolmate that you have been assigned. Throughout the story many examples of non-complimentary behaviors are shared about the Herdman kids. The last day of school finds the students at Woodrow Wilson Elementary sharing their compliments with one another and a surprising compliment about the oldest Herdman, Imogene, emerges.Imogene is the oldest of the Herdman crew. She is in sixth grade at Woodrow Wilson Elementary. As the oldest child, she is the ring leader in the Herdman mischief. She does not set a good example for her brothers and sisters. The end of the story finds Imogene hearing kind words spoken by a classmate named Beth.Beth is the narrator of the story. Most of what we learn about the Herdman family is from Beth’s perspective. She and Imogene have been in school together each year. Beth is from a two parent family and she has a brother named, Charlie, who also has a Herdman child in his classroom.Alice is another classmate of Imogene’s and is not fond of the Hermdan children. She is bossy and often wants to set limits on what the Herdman children cannot do at school, especially if the task is a fun activity. She is a brat.The book theme is to be cautious judging others based on their appearance and actions. Beth, one of the main characters, shares many examples of how and why the Herdman children are “bad”, “disrespectful”, and the kind of kids you don’t want around in your classroom. She knows much of the mischief that Ralph, Imogene, Leroy, Claude, Ollie and Gladys can get into declares them the worst kids in the history of the world. The chapters reveal the mischief that this family causes the school. One example of the mischief is that the Herdman’s ordered so many pizzas one day that the owner of the pizza restaurant hurried to fill their order and as a result a fire began. This was just one example of how they terrorized the community and school.Beth comes to understand why they have this kind of behavior and in the end of the story she offers a compliment to Imogene. Beth’s effort to give an honest compliment is received with appreciation from Imogene. The word resourceful describes how Imogene has matured over the school year and because she has limited resources she figures out how to be leader for her family.The Best Worst School Year Ever is a book I would recommend. The story is funny and I kept reading it because I wondered what would the Herdman’s do next? Their outrageous behavior is hard to believe but entertaining. I also liked that the story reminded me to not make judgements about others. Everyone has something that they can offer.

You’ll like it if you liked “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

As described

If you have read one about the Herdmans, then you have read them all. I got this thinking my third grade class would enjoy it, they got some laughs but you definitely can't read more than one in the series or the students lose interest.

Great follow up to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Fun for parents and kids to read. Lots of quirky and witty humor.

We have loved The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for years, and my kids and I listen to it every Christmas season. It's a family tradition that we cherish because it's so darn funny. We laughed when the kids were in elementary school, and we still laugh now that they're in high school. We just discovered the rest of the series and listened eagerly. This book is read by the narrator of the abridge Christmas book, and her gravely voice MAKES the story great. I could listen to this book over and over, and I'm sure I will. So funny in a completely wholesome and kid-friendly way. Highly highly recommend. I'm 43, and I found it as funny as my kids did. Viva the Herdmans.

Taking the characters from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and putting them in another book does not necessarily guarantee another great story. In fact, this book is not really a story at all but a string of incidents that occur at school. Still, Imogene Herdman can still surprise, and so it is somewhat amusing.

After reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, we were anxious to read anything by this author. And while she will probably never write a book that can equal her first, at least she's still trying. (Note,Harper Lee!)Even though this book won't be the classic her Christmas book is, it is a delightful story with realistic, funny situations with which every elementary school kid can identify. My grand children liked it.

Good story