Grinch Facts for Kids - Kids Play and Create

Reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas during Christmas is a tradition in many families. Read these facts about the old grumpy creature.

The Grinch first appeared in the poem Hoobuband the Grinch, written by Dr. Seuess and published in Redbook Magazine in May 1955.
A couple of years later, in 1957, Dr. Seuss wrote How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and a classic was born.
The Grinch is described as a big-bellied, pear-shaped, hairy green creature. He is a grumpy, hot-tempered old living on Mt. Crumpit with his sweet dog, Max.

Plot

In the book, the Grinch hates Christmas and the whole Christmas season, especially when the Who’s down in Who-ville starts singing. It is unclear why the Grinch hates Christmas, but it may be because his heart is two sizes too small. The Grinch vows to stop Christmas from coming but how. The Grinch comes up with a plan to stop Christmas.

The Grinch’s Plan

The Grinch makes a plan to stop Christmas. He plans to take all Who’s presents, packages, and bags. He makes a Santa Claus Suit and turns his do Max into a reindeer by making a horn to place at the top of his head. Then on Christmas night, the Grinch gets a sled and heads straight for Who-ville.

He enters one Who’s home and takes the presents, packages, bags, the Christmas tree, the log from the fire, and the roast beast. He didn’t even leave a crumb small enough for a mouse. Then he did the same thing to all the other Who’s houses.

The Grinch packets up his sled and heads back to Mt. Crumpit.

Did the Grinch Stop Christmas?

The Grinch’s sled gets stuff on a cliff. Just then, morning approaches. He waits to hear the cry of the Who’s who are missing all there presents, but instead, he hears signing. The Grinch looks puzzled, not sure why the Who’s are signing. He tells his dog, Max, that Christmas came without presents, packages, or bags.

Change of Heart

The Grinch realizes that Christmas doesn’t come from a store “perhaps Christmas means a little bit more.” Some say a miracle happened, and the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day. The Grinch gets the strength of 10 Grinches and can pull the sled to safety. He drives the sled back to Who-ville and returns all the items he stole from the Whos. The Grinch himself joins the Who’s for Christmas dinner and carves the roast beast.

Grinch Facts

The animated special How the Grinch Stole Christmas aired in 1966.
Boris Karloff narrated the story and was also the voice of the Grinch.
The song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” was written by Dr. Seuss and performed by Thurl Raven Scroft.
The Grinch also makes an appearance in Halloween Grinch Night, The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, and The Wubblous World of Dr. Seuss.
On November 8, 2000, a non-animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released.
The lead role of the Grinch was played by Jim Carey. Actors Eddie Murphy and Jack Nicholson were both considered for the role.
Anthony Hopkins narrated the film, and Ron Howard was the director.

A Whole Lot of Make-Up

It took 2.5 hours for make-up artists to put the Grinch makeup on Jim Carey daily and 1 hour to remove it.
Jim Carey spent a total of 92 days in full Grinch make-up.
The contacts used to make the Grinch’s eye look yellow were so uncomfortable that Jim Carey could not wear them all the time. In some scenes, editors added the yellow color to the Grinch’s eyes after filming the movie.
What does the movie the Grinch and the Wizard of Oz have in common? Make-up! Not since the Wizard of Oz was released in 1939 had so many characters had on such heavy make-up.
It took more than 1,000 hours to apply makeup to all the actors while making the movie.