[3] The book has been adapted many times, first as a 1966 animated TV film narrated by Boris Karloff, who also provided the Grinch's voice.

The Grinch is a sour, solitary creature with a heart "two sizes too small" who lives on a mountain overlooking Whoville, the home of the Whos.

After doing the same to the other Whos' houses, the Grinch takes his sleigh to the peak of Mount Crumpit and prepares to dump all of the stolen items into an abyss.

After much pondering, the Grinch realizes that Christmas means "a little bit more" than just presents and feasting, causing his heart to grow three sizes.

He had recently completed The Cat in the Hat and was in the midst of founding Beginner Books with Phyllis and Bennett Cerf and his wife, Helen Palmer Geisel.

Helen, who had ongoing medical problems and had suffered a small stroke in April 1957, nevertheless acted as an unofficial editor, as she had with previous Dr. Seuss books.

[5] Dr. Seuss claimed he was the inspiration for the character, as his wife's health problems and his dismay with the commercialization of Christmas made him feel "very Grinchish" as he looked in the mirror one year on December 26.

[5] As of 2005, the book had been translated into nine languages,[10] including Latin as Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit.

"[12] Ellen Lewis Buell, in her review in The New York Times, praised the book's handling of its moral, as well as its illustrations and verse.

The reader is swept along by the ebullient rhymes and the weirdly zany pictures until he is limp with relief when the Grinch reforms and, like the latter, mellow with good feelings.

"[12] The reviewer suggested that parents and older siblings reading the book to young children would also enjoy its moral and humor.

[13] Charlotte Jackson of the San Francisco Chronicle called the book "wonderful fantasy, in the true Dr. Seuss manner, with pictures in the Christmas colors.

Chuck Jones and Ben Washam adapted the story as an animated television special in 1966, featuring narration by Boris Karloff, who also provided the Grinch's voice.

[24] In 2022, the book was adapted into a horror film, directed by Steven LaMorte and starring David Howard Thornton as the Grinch.

[26] In 1992, Random House Home Video released an updated animated version of the book narrated by Walter Matthau, also including the story If I Ran The Zoo.

Since the book was written, the word "grinch" has entered the popular lexicon as an informal noun, defined as a "killjoy" or a "spoilsport".

[34][35] A sequel, titled How the Grinch Lost Christmas!, was released on September 5, 2023, published by Random House Children's Books.