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GordonWay2
Since: Jun, 2012
justanotherrandomlurker
Since: May, 2012

I'm trying to remember the name of a Christmas book we read when I was in Grade 4 (which would have been 1998), I believe it's definitely a 90s book, probably no earlier than the 80s.
Anyway, here's what I can remember (and this is usually more than I tend to remember, so it may be easier to identify): there was a gang of bad kids (as in they skipped school, they smoked cigars, they engaged in reckless activities, etc.) that were reluctantly lassoed into performing in the school Christmas play; I remember too that a girl from the gang named Imogene (she was either the only girl, or the main girl in the group) ended up playing the Virgin Mary, which somehow seemed to soften her up by the end of the story.
I know it was also a play and a movie, because around the same time we read the book, the play was also in town so we went to see it, and then we later watched the movie adaptation (the play had the kids as teenagers, but the movie had them elementary school age).