How the Grinch Stole Christmas! of "Redbook" magazine. Dr. Seuss began work on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" a couple of years later, around the beginning of 1957. 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. Dr. Seuss wrote the book quickly and was mostly finished with it within a few weeks. Biographers Judith and
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 –