How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a children's story by Dr. Seuss written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It was published as a book by Random House in 1957, and at approximately the same time in an issue of Redbook.[1] The book criticizes the commercialization of Christmas.[2] Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children."[3] It was one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.[4] In 2000 the book was turned into a movie starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film).
The Grinch, a bitter, grouchy, cave-dwelling creature with a heart "two sizes too small," lives on snowy Mount Crumpit, a steep high mountain just north of Whoville, home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos. His only companion is his unloved but loyal dog, Max. From his perch high atop Mount Crumpit, the Grinch can hear the noisy Christmas festivities that take place in Whoville. Annoyed at their rejoicing and unable to understand the Whos' happiness, he makes plans to descend on the town and to deprive the Whos of their Christmas presents, dinners, and decorations, and thus to "find a way to keep Christmas from coming." On Christmas Eve, the Grinch crudely disguises himself as Santa, and forces poor Max to drag a sleigh to Whoville, where the Grinch steals all of the Whos' Christmas presents. (He is briefly interrupted in his burglary by Cindy Lou, a little Who girl, but concocts a crafty lie to effect his escape from her home.) The Grinch then takes his sleigh to a precipice of Mount Crumpit, and prepares to dump all of the Christmas presents into the abyss. As dawn breaks, he expects to hear wails of anguish from the Whos, but is confused to hear them singing a joyous Christmas song instead. He puzzles for a moment until it dawns upon him that perhaps Christmas is more than presents and feasting: "Maybe Christmas, he thought, means a little bit more." The Grinch's shrunken heart suddenly grows three sizes larger. The reformed Grinch returns all of the Whos' presents and trimmings and is warmly accepted into the community of the Whos, where he is even given the honor of carving the Roast Beast at their Christmas dinner.
Media adaptations [edit]
- In 1992, Random House Home Video released an updated animated version of the book narrated by Walter Matthau.
- The book was translated into Latin as Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit: How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Latin by Jennifer Morrish Tunberg with the assistance of Terence O. Tunberg in 1997.
- An audiobook of the book read by Rik Mayall was released in 1999.
- In 2009 Oceanhouse Media released the iPhone/iPad app "How The Grinch Stole Christmas!" [5]
References [edit]
|
|
|
| Bibliography |
|
|
| Adaptations |
|
|
| Other works |
|
|
| Related topics |
|
|
|
1 as "Theo. LeSieg". 2 Posthumous.
|
|
|
|
|
| Characters |
|
|
| Book |
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
|
|
| Adaptations |
|
|
