The Story Behind Dr. Seuss's Grinch

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Written & Illustrated by Dr. Seuss
Age Level: 2-8 Years
Published October 12, 1957

Cindy Lou Who deserved a spinoff.

We all know the story of the cunning curmudgeon known as the Grinch. But what do you know about how he came to be?

On the morning of December 26th, 1956, Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) was brushing his teeth in the mirror when he noticed what he later described as a very Grinchish countenance in his reflection. It had been a difficult holiday. His wife was in poor health, and he was put off by how commercialized Christmas had become. In an interview with Redbook magazine published in 1957, Seuss explained that "Something had gone wrong with Christmas, I realized, or more likely with me. So I wrote the story about my sour friend, the Grinch, to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I'd lost." 

" 'Why, for fifty-three years
I've put up with it now!
I MUST stop this Christmas from coming!
     ... But HOW?' "
- Fun Fact: Theodor Seuss Geisel was 53 years old when he wrote How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Geisel wrote the majority of the story in just a few weeks. It was easy for him to channel the villain and sprinkle in quips and complaints about Christmas's excess. But he was stuck on the ending for months. "I got hung up on how to get the Grinch out of the mess ... I got into a situation where I sounded like a second-rate preacher or some bible thumper." Rather than punctuating the story with a platitude, Geisel simply shows the Grinch at the dinner table with the Whos, contentedly carving the "roast beast." 

In the years following publication, Geisel drove around town sporting vanity license plates that read "GRINCH." Meanwhile, another man put his personal touch on the book's main character. Chuck Jones was the cartoon director of Warner Bros. when the studio acquired film rights for their iconic 1966 special which aired on CBS. Geisel's book is mostly black and white, with washes of red being the only accent color. It was Jones's idea to make the Grinch his signature green color. You're probably assuming Jones chose it because red and green is the traditional palette, but you'd be mistaken; it was actually an inside joke referring to the shade of rental cars he somehow kept getting. 

I hope this new knowledge deepens your appreciation of Dr. Seuss's Christmas classic. And I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season!