The Best Family Home Evening Ever

Infobox short story |
name = The Best Family Home Evening Ever
title_orig =
translator =
author = Orson Scott Card
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre =
published_in = "Friend"
publication_type = Periodical
publisher =
media_type = Print (Magazine)
pub_date = 1978
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Best Family Home Evening Ever!!" is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It appears in his short story collection "Maps in a Mirror". Card originally published this story in the January 1978 issue of "Friend" magazine under the pseudonym Byron Walley.

Plot summary

This story is about a nine-year-old boy named Alan whose family frequently gets upset with him. When Allan’s dad announces that they are going to have a family lesson about not getting angry at one another, Allan gets very excited and when his father says that Allan will be the one giving the lesson he gets to work right away. On the day of the lesson he secretly makes a mess out of everyone’s things in the family room and then gets everyone to promise not to get angry. After Allan shows his family the mess, and they pass the test by not getting angry, he explains that he didn’t ruin anyone’s stuff but had carefully scattered the things around the room. When Allan says that he will clean up the mess the family volunteers to help and they tell him that it was a good family lesson.

Characters

*Allan – Main character
*Allan’s Dad - unnamed
*Allan’s Mom - unnamed
*Ryan - Allan’s brother
*Harry - Allan’s brother
*Alice - Allan’s sister

Byron Walley

In the Question and Answer section of his website Orson Scott Card said that the first time he used the name Byron Walley was when he published the short story "Gert Fram" in "Ensign" magazine. Card did this because he had a non-fiction article “Family Art”, a poem “Looking West” and a short play "The Rag Mission" (published under the name Brian Green) appearing in the same issue. [http://www.hatrack.com/research/questions/q0081.shtml Pseudonyms] "Orson Scott Card's website The Hatrack".]

References

ee also

*List of works by Orson Scott Card
*Orson Scott Card

External links

* [http://www.hatrack.com The official Orson Scott Card website]
* [http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=21bc9fbee98db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=7ec85fd1b1f9b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 "Best Family Home Evening Ever!!"] - available online from "Friend" magazine.