How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Neil Morgan wrote, "It was the easiest book of his career to write, except for its conclusion." According to Dr. Seuss, "I got hung up getting the Grinch out of the mess. I got into a situation where I sounded like a second-rate preacher or some biblical truism... Finally in desperation... without making any statement whatever, I showed the Grinch and the Whos together at the table, and made a pun of the Grinch carving the 'roast beast.' ... I had gone through thousands of religious choices, and then after three months it came out like that." By mid-May 1957,
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special) (such as 1964's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and 1969's "Frosty the Snowman") that have come to be regarded as classics. It received modestly positive reviews at the time it was released. Critic Rick Du Brow said it was "probably as good as most of the other holiday cartoons." It has since been recognized as a classic, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 100% "fresh" rating on its website; the critical consensus reads, ""How the Grinch Stole Christmas" brings an impressive array of talent to bear on an adaptation that honors a classic holiday story –