| How the Grinch Stole Christmas! | |
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| Author | Dr. Seuss |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Publication date | November 24, 1957 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | Unknown |
| OCLC Number | 178325 |
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a children's book by Dr. Seuss written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author, and published by Random House in 1957. The book criticizes the commercialization of Christmas and satirizes those who profit from exploiting the holiday.[1]
Plot
The Grinch, a bitter, cave-dwelling, catlike creature with a heart "two sizes too small," lives on snowy Mount Crumpit, a steep, 3,000-foot (910 m) high mountain just north of Whoville, home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos. His only companion is his faithful dog, Max. From his perch high atop Mount Crumpit, the Grinch can hear the noisy Christmas festivities that take place in Whoville. Envious of the Whos' happiness, he makes plans to descend on the town and, by means of burglary, deprive them of their Christmas presents and decorations and thus "prevent Christmas from coming". However, he learns in the end that despite his success in stealing all the Christmas presents and decorations from the Whos, Christmas comes just the same. He then realizes that Christmas is more than just gifts and presents. His heart grows three sizes larger, he returns all the presents and trimmings, and is warmly welcomed into the community of the Whos.
The story, of a misanthrope who learns to love Christmas and humanity (or 'Who-manity'), bears some resemblance to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, with the Grinch taking the role of Scrooge. However, unlike that story, where Scrooge converts by explicitly learning the error of his ways and the consequences thereof, the Grinch's sudden change of heart is the consequence of the error of his ways, albeit an unexpected one.
Adaptations
Chuck Jones adapted the story as an animated film in 1966, featuring narration by Boris Karloff. The animated film often appears on American television during the Christmas season.
In 1975, Zero Mostel narrated an LP of the story.
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.
A musical stage version was produced by the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, in 1998. It also was produced on Broadway and is scheduled for a limited-engagement US tour in 2008.
The town of Whoville and the mountain of which the Grinch lives were based on the Town of Easthampton, Massachusetts and the overlooking mountain named Mount Tom. Easthampton and Mount Tom are just north of Springfield, MA where Dr. Seuss grew up.
The book was adapted into a live-action film starring Jim Carrey in 2000.
The Grinch character was reprised in Seuss's Halloween Is Grinch Night and The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat.
References
- ^ Nel, Philip. Dr Seuss. 2005.
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