Dr. Seuss’ Grinch, Frosty and Charlie add up to a Merry Animated Christmas

Usually this space is reserved for new series or specials for young viewers, but this week we highlight Frosty the Snowman. Although neither a premiere nor just for kids, the holiday favorite deserves recognition as a perennial no one should do without. Based on the song by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson, and featuring narration by Jimmy Durante, “Frosty” first aired in 1969--which qualifies it as a bona-fide classic.

Other Christmas classics airing this week: A Charlie Brown Christmas, the first of the “Peanuts” specials that premiered in 1965, and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” today at 3 p.m. TNT; “Frosty the Snowman,” Wednesday 8-8:30 p.m. CBS; “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Friday 8-8:30 p.m. CBS; For all ages.

MORE KIDS’ SHOWS

A world-weary Santa rediscovers the meaning of the holiday when he journeys cross-country with a little girl in the 1989 TV movie It Nearly Wasn’t Christmas (today noon-2 p.m. KCAL; Friday. 9-11 p.m. and SAturday 6-8 p.m. Lifetime). For ages 7 and up.

The third in a series of monthly news programs for kids produced by Linda Ellerbee is Nickelodeon Special Edition: In Someone Else’s Shoes (today and Tuesday 6:30-7 p.m.; Monday-Thursday 6:30-7 a.m. Nickelodeon), which discusses stereotyping. For 6- to 12-year-olds and their parents.

Yep, that’s the voice of David Bowie narrating The Snowman (today 8:30-9 p.m. Disney Channel), about a boy whose cool creation comes to life. For 2- to 11-year-olds.

Fred Savage and Hume Cronyn star in Christmas on Division Street (today 9-11 p.m. CBS), a TV movie about the friendship between a young boy and a homeless man. For ages 7 and up.

Lloyd Bridges plays a Santa looking for a replacement in In the Nick of Time (Monday 9-11 p.m. NBC), a TV movie that promises “suspense, adventure and enchantment.” For all ages.

In the rebroadcast CBS Schoolbreak Special “Malcolm Takes a Shot” (Tuesday 3-4 p.m. CBS), a teen basketball player obsessed with stardom gets a dose of reality when he is struck with an epileptic seizure during a game. For 12- to 17-year-olds.

Based on stories by Canadian author Robert Munsch, Thomas’ Snowsuit/50 Below (Tuesday 7:30-8 p.m. Showtime) combines animation and original music. The first tale is about a kid who drives his parents crazy when he refuses to wear his snowsuit; the second shows what can happen when it gets really cold. It’s preceded by Santa Bear’s First Christmas (7-7:30 p.m.). For 2- to 11-year-olds.

Rocker Huey Lewis and actress Glenda Jackson team up to tell of The Rise and Fall of Humpty Dumpty (Wednesday 6:30-7 p.m. HBO), which reveals why Humpty happened to be sitting on that wall in the first place. For 2- to 11-year-olds.

Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat, stars of the comic strips “Bloom County” and “Outland,” make their TV debut in a new special A Wish for Wings That Work (Wednesday 8:30-9 p.m. CBS). For all ages.

The Wish That Changed Christmas (Friday 8:30-9 p.m. CBS) is a new animated special based on the children’s book “The Story of Holly and Ivy,” by Rumer Godden. Designed to promote reading (and, presumably, to score brownie points for McDonald’s, which produced the show), the special will include live-action segments of Ronald McDonald encouraging kids to discover books. For 2- to 11-year-olds.

Bill Murray portrays a modern-day humbug in Scrooged (Saturday 8-10 p.m. CBS), the 1988 film. For ages 7 and up.