How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss| 1957 | Random House | Hardcover $ 16.99

Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot… but the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-ville, did NOT!

The noisy holiday preparations and infernal singing of the happy little citizens below annoy the Grinch to no end. He decides this frivolous merriment must stop. His wonderful, awful idea is to don a Santa outfit, strap heavy antlers on his poor, quivering dog Max, construct a makeshift sleigh, head down to Whoville, and strip the chafingly cheerful Whos of their Yuletide glee once and for all.

This title is on my Classics Club list because… well, it’s a holiday classic! Christmas means getting out the hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, a fake pine tree with built-in twinkle lights, some purposefully ugly-but-cute sweaters, and Dr. Seuss.

Like many, many, MANY kids since the late 1960’s, I grew up watching the cartoon TV special version of this story every year in December. Of course the more recent live-action and computer-animated movies with Jim Carrey and Benedict Cumberbatch, respectively, are fun in their own right — but there’s just something inimitable and magical about that original combo of Chuck Jones plus Boris Karloff.

I’m sure I’ve read the actual book at some point, or had it read to me as a bedtime story, but it’s been simply ages and was worth a revisit. The original poetry and illustrations are absolutely delightful and stand up well to the test of time and multiple audiovisual reinterpretations.

Although… I will confess that since I started writing this review, I’ve had “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” stuck in my head on a loop; I’m not mad about it, and I rather hope it’s happening to you, too.

Links:

• Dr. Seuss Foundation
• Dr. Seuss Collection from the University of California San Diego Library
• Author biography from Poetry Foundation

Publication information: Dr. Seuss. How the Grinch stole Christmas. New York, NY: Random House, 1957. Print.
Source: Personal library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.