The Lorax (Classic Seuss)

Okay, so this is probably as preachy as Dr. Suess gets, and it just might get on the nerves of some people, but the tree hugger in me salutes him for it, even as he paints a grimmer picture of environmental destruction than Al Gore ever thought of.

Even so, it's clearly Suess with his imaginative worlds and funny characters.

It's a solemn book of warning that it pretty darn good into scaring kids into being careful with the environment.

And that's not a bad thing.

I could not wait to present this lesson to the class this year. Teaching seventh grade and the 5 themes of geography this book lends itself to many of those themes but mostly human-environmental interaction (how human interact and change the environment to fit their needs). Not only does this book show that but it really visualizes how we negatively impact the Earth for our own selfish needs. Again my students are in love with the facts that I am reading them a storybook and after the discussion they see that it isn't a plain, old storybook but it really does have a significant meaning.

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

While most Dr. Suess stories are pure fun without any heavy message, The Lorax delivers an extremely blunt lesson on ecology. What's amazing is that Dr. Suess does this with a narrative that is engaging, entertaining and ultimately inspiring. You might think a book with such a heavy message could be a turn-off to young children, but I have found the opposite. My preschoolers find this story absorbing. I think they understand there is something truly important at stake, so the book means more to them than other Dr. Suess titles.

Is it a coincidence that Thneed rhymes with Deadly Sin #3? Growth for the sake of growth is where we are today. This too shall pass, UNLESS....

Dr. Seuss, turned holier-than-thou by his elevated status in society, decides to preach to us about the evils of industrialization. Does he realize that the many millions of copies of "The Lorax" were all made in factories, using paper that came from trees?