Authors 14,15, & 16: Christmas Secular Classics

The book below was written by Alan Benjamin. But the original idea for Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer was written in verse by Robert L. May, a copywriter with the Montgomery Ward Company in 1939 (the store decided to develop and promote their own Christmas coloring booklet rather than buy the booklets from someone else as they had done in previous years). The song version was written by May's friend and brother-in-law, Johnny Marks and recorded by Gene Autry in 1949. Then came the television movie narrated by Burl Ives in 1964 and the classic lives on today.

"Twas the Night Before Christmas" is also called "A Visit From St.Nicholas" and was written in 1822 by Clement Clark Moore. A family friend sent the poem to the New York Sentinel where it was first published December 23, 1823. Moore did not claim ownership until it was included in a book of his poetry published in 1844. The poem is now considered a worldwide tradition.

What's your favorite version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas? How the Grinch Stole Christmas was written by Dr.Seuss (Theodor Geisel) in 1957. The animated tv special narrated by Boris Karloff came out in 1966 with the live action film starring Jim Carrey in 2000. The book was written in part as a political commentary on the commercialization of Christmas and those that profit thereby. For more information visit www.seussville.com and www.catinthehat.org