How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, by Dr. Seuss

So weird to not see a green Grinch here.

Book number one on the NitM project is How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, by Dr. Seuss. If you grew up in America, chances are you probably read this book at least once in your lifetime. I guess in other countries these weren't really translated because of the whole rhyming thing, which makes sense but is something I didn't really think about until one of my German friends, Iman, mentioned it while we were watching the live action adaptation a few weeks ago. That fact kind of bummed me out, but then I looked back and I wasn't a SUPER huge stan for the doctor, so I'm not too upset about it. I chose this book first for a few reasons: number one, it's easy; number two, it's Christmas Eve as I'm writing this; and number three, it's a book for this project that my parents own, and I'm currently at their house. I feel like some reviews I write on these books for this project will be super redundant, or like I'm talking to someone who lives under a rock, but here we go.

When the Grinch has his "aha!" moment.

Grinch was published in 1957 and is, obviously, a holiday classic. The rhyming story follows the main character of the Grinch, who lives on a hill above the town of the Whos with his dog Max. The Whos are very into Christmas, which is the understatement of the year. The Grinch is sick of all these Whos all up in his unhappy grill every holiday season, so this year he decides to put a stop to the noise and happiness and Christmas-ness. To do this, he dresses up like Santa Claus himself, uses Max as an overworked reindeer, and breaks into all the Who houses to steal their Christmas getup. He is stopped by Cindy Lou Who in one of the houses, who asks what he's doing there. He tells her he's fixing a light on the tree, and after she goes back to sleep, off he goes. He takes all of "the goods" home with him and then waits to see everyone's depression kick in once they all wake up. However, to his dismay, they still celebrate Christmas by singing in a huge circle in the town square. The Grinch is confused but eventually touched by this act of kindness, and the Whos, not holding grudges, let him come into their homes for Christmas after he returns all of their presents, decorations, and food. They even let him carve the Who ham, which just blows my mind, honestly. But hey, that's what the Whos are about.

I like that my mom's copy of this book has bite marks from our old cat, Tyke.

I like this story because, as a childrens' book, it allows parents/guardians/relatives/teachers/whoever to use the story as a teaching tool for kids. Christmas isn't about the stuff you get, it's about being with people you love and celebrating the holidays and the fact that you're doing well and living the life you're living. It also makes a great animated short film (1966) and live action movie starring Jim Carrey and baby Taylor Momsen (2000).

NOTES IN THE MARGINZ FACTS

Book number: 1

Books left: 338

Amount of time taken to read: 10 minutes

Books by Dr. Seuss for NitM: 1

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