It's Not Easy Being Green

Welcome back to Ink Stained Fingers. The place were books of all types are reviewed.

Like with all my other reviews, I delve into how well the book deals with the message it’s trying to bring across, whether or not the message comes across well, and how the characters are used towards that goal while keeping the reader’s interest along the way.

Now while I was doing last minute shopping and wrapping my presents for Christmas, two things occurred to me. One, I hadn’t done a review this week. And two, that with Christmas nearly here it would be a good idea to review a Christmas story.

But which one? There are new ones coming out every year so picking one was a bit of a challenge.

However, I decided to go back to an old classic that’s been the subject of a couple of movies thus far, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Most kids grew up with this story and became so popular that it warranted not only a cartoon version of the story but a live action one as well. This fact alone made the choice of reviewing such an iconic book to be a choice I should have easily picked up on. Not one of my brightest moments.

Now, most of you might all ready know that this book rhymes the whole way through. So, why am I not following in that tradition for the review? To put it simply, that would take a little more effort than would be pretty.

So, laziness aside, let’s take a look at the story How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Now, I’m starting this off a bit differently by looking at the cover of the book. The main reason for that being that this is a story with pictures unlike the other books I’ve reviewed so far. The fact that there are pictures would normally lean it towards a younger audience.

However, the story inside presents an idea all ages can use.

I find that this Christmas story is the best one of all time especially with the way our economy is currently going.

By the title it’s easy to tell that the character known as the Grinch hates Christmas. Even though it doesn’t tell us why in the book I find that it’s not necessary to the plot.

Yes, the live action movie version came up with an idea as to why the Grinch hates Christmas. However, I feel this isn’t necessary. It lessens the importance of the message that this story is trying to tell. Especially since the live action movie makes the Whos of Who-ville into greedy and self serving creatures.

The story itself talks about the Grinch and…well…how he stole Christmas from a group of people known as the Whos. And no this is not the band.

And this is were comes the smartest idea by the Grinch. He dresses up like Santa Claus, makes his dog Max look like a reindeer, and builds a sleigh to carry everything. This way he doesn’t arouse suspicion if he were to be seen. Then, through various rhymes, it describes the things he steals from the Whos like their stockings, presents, lights, trees and even food. He loads all of this stuff up into a sleigh.

Now, one might wonder where this is all leading to. Yes, we have a group of creatures called the Whos who love Christmas and a Grinch who hates Christmas and wants to steal it from them because…he hates it… Seems like a circular argument. Where could this possibly go?

Only to the best message about Christmas ever.

The message that Christmas isn’t about what you give or receive but about coming together with people you love and spending time together. This is the lesson that the Grinch learns when he listens from the top of mount Crumpet for the sound of sadness but hears the Whos still celebrating despite having nothing.

That’s when his heart opens up to the idea that Christmas isn’t about possessions but about family and togetherness. This is a message that is sadly lost in today’s society. That’s why this story can last throughout time and the same meaning can be learned by generations to come.

So of course, we have to have a happy ending with the Grinch bringing everything back and celebrating Christmas with the Whos.

But it’s the message that’s important here. The pictures  give a great visual of the actions of the Grinch and even shows us what the Whos look like. Naturally, its usually a story that parents read to their children but I believe that any person, no matter what age they are, should read this story.

The story is well thought out. It sticks with the message it was trying to get across and does it in a way that anyone can understand. The pictures keep the reader interested and offers another level to the story.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a timeless story that will never go away. I have a feeling that this story might have people trying to re-do it in the future in e-books and other movies but it’s perfect just the way it is. No one can make it any better than it all ready is.

This story is definitely one of my favorite stories of all time. If you haven’t read this book yet then apparently you’ve been living under a rock and you simply are unaware this exists. So get out from under the rock and go pick up this classic Christmas story.

Well, that’s all from this reviewer. Christmas is just around the corner and I’m ready to meet together with all my family and friends.

I hope everyone has the best Christmas, Felix Navidad, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or whatever it is that you celebrate around this time of the year.

This is Creative Karma saying never lose that love of books.