Kirkus Reviews

Not just your average naughty children, the Herdmans occasionally step over the line into juvenile delinquency- -but they do it with such panache that the reader cannot help but be impressed. Even Beth Bradley, narrator and sixth-grade classmate of Imogene Herdman, is eventually won over. Beth tells the story of a year in the life of the Herdman clan and describes her own school assignment: to think of compliments for everyone in her class—including Imogene. Beth can think of a lot of names to call Imogene, none of them complimentary. She explains in hilarious detail how the Herdmans are behind every minor catastrophe that occurs in town, from the frogs in the Town Hall watercooler to the Amazing Tatooed Baby'' scandal. How can Beth say anything nice about that? Eventually Beth's father comes to the rescue: He calls Imogeneresourceful'' after she butters a boy's head to unstick it from a bike rack. Beth looks up resourceful'' and decides it will do. She also addscunning,'' shrewd,''creative,'' and others, realizing that Imogene really is all of these. Beth concludes that if Imogene doesn't go to jail, she could become president. Robinson's readers will look forward to finding out which it will be. The Herdmans will delight readers of this spirited sequel to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972). (Fiction. 8+)"

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1994)

More laugh-out-loud adventures of Beth, Charlie, and the dreaded Herdmans from 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' (Harper). Beth worries over a school assignment--'Compliments for Classmates'--that links her with Imogene Herdman; stealing, lying, and intimidation aren't exactly the sort of compliments the teacher has in mind. The understated reporting of Herdman exploits is sure to please.

ALA Booklist (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 1994)

Although neither quite as hilarious nor as unexpectedly moving as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972), this sequel will still have children laughing out loud at the Herdmans' antics and believing that even such remarkably bad kids have some good qualities. The school year provides the framework for the story, narrated by Beth, who has Imogene Herdman in her class. As soon as the teacher announces that the yearlong class project will be Compliments for Classmates, which involves writing down the other children's good qualities, it's inevitable that Beth will draw Imogene's name. And what do you say about a girl who swipes a classmate's baby brother, draws pictures on his head with markers, and charges folks a quarter for a look at the Amazing Tattooed Baby? Yet Robinson doesn't just play the Herdmans for laughs. Beth's identification of Imogene's strengths gives the book a level of humanity that makes the novel more than a series of humorous anecdotes. Readers can only hope that the Herdmans will not reform--at least not until after a few more sequels. Few characters in children's fiction are so unredeemed, so uncivilized, and so out-and-out funny. (Reviewed October 15, 1994)

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-The long-awaited sequel to the popular The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (HarperCollins, 1972). A dangerous, shifty, fearless, cigar-smoking family of thieves and fight-instigators, the horrible Herdmans are distributed one per grade at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, and it is unclear whether junior high or jail will be their next step. Sixth-grader Beth Bradley, the narrator, has the misfortune of drawing Imogene Herdman's name for a class project in which students must think of ``Compliments for Classmates'' at the end of the year. How will she find something good to say about Imogene? Just as the Herdmans discover something about the meaning of Christmas in the first book, Beth and her classmates realize that there is good in everyone-even in Imogene Herdman. While Beth's vignettes of the school year are hilarious, this story lacks the tension of the earlier novel, created by the build-up to the climactic event of the pageant. Nevertheless, this book is certain to be a hit with fans old and new.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME