How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
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''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a children's Christmas book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in
rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually the exact same phonemes) in the final Stress (linguistics), stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciou ...
d verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a green cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the public's
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
plans by stealing Christmas gifts and decorations from the homes of the nearby town of Whoville on Christmas Eve. As a result of the townspeople's response, the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not all about money and presents. The story was published as a book by
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
in 1957, and at approximately the same time in an issue of '' Redbook''. The book criticizes the commercialization of Christmas and the holiday season. The book has been adapted many times, first as a 1966 animated TV film narrated by
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...
, who also provided the Grinch's voice. In 1977, a Halloween prequel, '' Halloween Is Grinch Night'', aired with the Grinch voiced by Hans Conried. These were followed with a 2000 live-action feature film starring Jim Carrey, a 2007 musical, a 2018 animated film starring
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, a 2020 live television adaptation of the musical starring Matthew Morrison, an unauthorized 2022 slasher horror parody film starring David Howard Thornton and a 2023 Wondery
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
starring James Austin Johnson.


Plot

The Grinch is a sour, solitary creature with a heart "two sizes too small" who lives on a mountain overlooking Whoville, the home of the Whos. Having been annoyed by Whoville's noisy Christmas festivities for 53 years, the Grinch resolves to stop Christmas from coming. He disguises himself as
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
and travels to Whoville on a sleigh pulled by his dog, Max. Slinking down the chimney of the first house on the square, the Grinch steals all of the presents, the food for the feast, and even the Christmas tree. He is briefly interrupted by Cindy-Lou Who, a young Who girl, but he concocts a crafty lie to send her away. After doing the same to the other Whos' houses, the Grinch takes his sleigh to the peak of Mount Crumpit and prepares to dump all of the stolen items into an abyss. As morning arrives, he expects to hear the Whos crying, but he is surprised to hear them singing a joyous Christmas song instead. After much pondering, the Grinch realizes that Christmas means "a little bit more" than just presents and feasting, causing his heart to grow three sizes. The reformed Grinch returns the Whos' presents and food and is invited to their Christmas feast. He is given the honors to carve the roast beast, and gives Max the first slice.


Background and publication history

The Grinch first appeared in a 33-line illustrated poem by Dr. Seuss called "The Hoobub and the Grinch", which was originally published in the May 1955 edition of '' Redbook'' magazine. Dr. Seuss began work on ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' a couple of years later, around the beginning of 1957. He had recently completed ''
The Cat in the Hat ''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house ...
'' and was in the midst of founding Beginner Books with Phyllis and Bennett Cerf and his wife, Helen Palmer Geisel. Helen, who had ongoing medical problems and had suffered a small stroke in April 1957, nevertheless acted as an unofficial editor, as she had with previous Dr. Seuss books. Dr. Seuss claimed he was the inspiration for the character, as his wife's health problems and his dismay with the commercialization of Christmas made him feel "very Grinchish" as he looked in the mirror one year on December 26, 1956. Dr. Seuss wrote the book quickly and was mostly finished with it within a few weeks. Biographers Judith and Neil Morgan wrote that it was the easiest book of his career to write, except for its conclusion. According to Dr. Seuss:
I got hung up getting the Grinch out of the mess. I got into a situation where I sounded like a second-rate preacher or some biblical truism... Finally in desperation... without making any statement whatever, I showed the Grinch and the Whos together at the table, and made a pun of the Grinch carving the 'roast beast'. ... I had gone through thousands of religious choices, and then after three months it came out like that.
By mid-May 1957, the book was finished and in the mail to the
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
offices in New York, U.S.A. In June 1957, Dr. Seuss and Helen took a month-long vacation to
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, where he checked and returned the book's
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. The book debuted in December, in both a book version published by Random House and in an issue of ''Redbook''. Dr. Seuss dedicated the book to Theodor "Teddy" Owens, the one-year-old son of his niece, Peggy Owens. As of 2005, the book had been translated into nine languages, including
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as ''Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit''. The translation was published in October 1998 by Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers Inc.


Reception

M.S. Libby, writing in the '' New York Herald Tribune'', compared the book favorably to Dr. Seuss's earlier works: "His peculiar and original genius in line and word is always the same, yet, so rich are the variations he plays on his themes, always fresh and amusing." ''
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'' wrote, "Youngsters will be in transports over the goofy gaiety of Dr. Seuss's first book about a villain." The reviewer called the Grinch "easily the best Christmas-cad since Scrooge." Ellen Lewis Buell, in her review in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', praised the book's handling of its moral, as well as its illustrations and verse. She wrote:
Even if you prefer Dr. Seuss in a purely antic mood, you must admit that if there's a moral to be pointed out, no one can do it more gaily. The reader is swept along by the ebullient rhymes and the weirdly zany pictures until he is limp with relief when the Grinch reforms and, like the latter, mellow with good feelings.
The review for '' The Saturday Review of Literature'' stated: "The inimitable Dr. Seuss has brought off a fresh triumph in his new picture book... The verse is as lively and the pages are as bright and colourful as anyone could wish." The reviewer suggested that parents and older siblings reading the book to young children would also enjoy its moral and humor. Charlotte Jackson of the ''
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'' called the book "wonderful fantasy, in the true Dr. Seuss manner, with pictures in the Christmas colours."


Analysis

Some writers, including Dr. Seuss, have made a connection between the Grinch and Dr. Seuss. In the story, the Grinch laments that he has had to put up with the Whos' celebration of Christmas for 53 years. As both Thomas Fensch and Charles Cohen note, Dr. Seuss was 53 when he wrote and published the book. Dr. Seuss asserted the connection in an article in the December 1957 edition of '' Redbook'': "I was brushing my teeth on the morning of the 26th of last December when I noticed a very Grinch-ish countenance in the mirror. It was Seuss! So I wrote about my sour friend, the Grinch, to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I'd lost." as quoted in Cohen 2004, p. 330 Seuss's step-daughter, Lark Dimond-Cates, stated in a speech in 2003, "I always thought
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... was Ted on his good days, and the Grinch was Ted on his bad days." Cohen notes that Seuss drove a car with a license plate that read "GRINCH". Thomas Fensch notes that the Grinch is the first adult and the first villain to be a main character in a Dr. Seuss book.


Adaptations

The book has been adapted into a variety of media, including stage and film.
Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...
and Ben Washam adapted the story as an animated television special in 1966, featuring narration by
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...
, who also provided the Grinch's voice. Thurl Ravenscroft sang " You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch", with lyrics written by Dr. Seuss himself. A prequel called '' Halloween Is Grinch Night'' aired on ABC on October 28, 1977. Hans Conried was the voice of the Grinch and the Narrator because Boris Karloff had died in 1969. A crossover special called '' The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat'' aired on ABC on May 20, 1982. In 2000, the book was adapted into a live-action film, directed by Ron Howard and starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch. Illumination Entertainment also developed a 3D animated feature film, titled '' The Grinch'', directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier and starring
Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...
as the Grinch. It was originally scheduled to be released on November 10, 2017, but was pushed back to November 9, 2018. In 2022, the book was adapted into a
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
, directed by Steven LaMorte and starring David Howard Thornton as the Grinch. Several audio recordings and audiovisual adaptations of the book have also been published. In 1975, Zero Mostel narrated an
LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of  revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...
of the story. In 1992, Random House Home Video released an updated animated version of the book narrated by Walter Matthau, also including the story '' If I Ran The Zoo''. In 2009, an interactive e-book version was released for the
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
. In 2000, Rik Mayall read the book as one of four of Seuss's books on the audio CD ''The Dr Seuss Collection''. In 2023, Wondery released a
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
inspired by the book, hosted by James Austin Johnson. A musical stage version was produced by the Old Globe Theatre,
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in 2007. It also was produced on Broadway and a limited-engagement US tour in 2008. The North American Tour began in the fall of 2010 and has subsequently toured every fall since. The book was adapted into a 13-minute song, performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra, arranged by Danny Troob, and featuring bassist Reid Burton and actor Will LeBow narrating it on the Boston Pops's 2013 CD, "A Boston Pops Christmas – Live from Symphony Hall with Keith Lockhart".


Legacy

Based on a 2007 online poll, the
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listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". In 2012 it was ranked 61st among the "Top 100 Picture Books" in a survey published by '' School Library Journal'' – the fourth of five Dr. Seuss books on the list. The book's main characters have made appearances in other works. The Grinch appears in the animated specials '' Halloween Is Grinch Night'' and '' The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat''. Max, the Grinch's dog, and the Grinch himself also appear in the children's puppet show '' The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss''. The Grinch, Cindy-Lou Who, and Max, appear in '' Seussical'', a musical which takes its plot from several Dr. Seuss books. Since the book was written, the word "grinch" has entered the popular lexicon as an informal noun, defined as a "killjoy" or a "spoilsport".


Sequel

A sequel, titled ''How the Grinch Lost Christmas!'', was released on September 5, 2023, published by Random House Children's Books. The book was written by Alastair Heim and illustrated by Aristides Ruiz.


See also

*
List of Christmas-themed literature The following is a navigational list of notable literary works which are set at Christmas time, or contain Christmas amongst the central themes. Novels and novellas *Agatha Christie, '' Hercule Poirot's Christmas'' *Charles Dickens, '' A Christmas ...


Citations


General and cited sources

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External links


Grinch
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on February 5, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:How The Grinch Stole Christmas! 1957 children's books Books by Dr. Seuss Children's books adapted into films Christmas children's books Criticism of the commercialization of Christmas The Grinch (franchise) Random House books Works originally published in Redbook