The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Long before "going green" was mainstream, Dr. Seuss's Lorax spoke for the trees and warned of the dangers of disrespecting the environment. In this cautionary rhyming tale (printed on recycled paper) we learn of the Once-ler, who came across a valley of Truffula Trees and Brown Bar-ba-loots, and how his harvesting of the tufted trees changed the landscape forever. - Publisher. The Lorax is the story of a boy who's looking for answers. Living in a ruined town, this little guy wants to know the story of the Lorax, so he goes to the Once-ler, an elderly inventor/manufacturer. Doc Brown -- ahem, the Once-ler -- tells the boy how the town came to be ruined, and most importantly, what he can do to turn things around. Who exactly was this this Lorax character, what was it doing here, and why was it taken away? These are questions only a man name the Once-ler can answer. The Once-ler's last words to the boy: "Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack./ Then the Lorax/ and all of his friends/ may come back." - shmoop.com

We read this, this morning from our Dr Seuss Baker's Dozen treasury in line with our Forest for the Trees unit study. I started out with the intent of reading it through, but then AppleBlossom (5.5) read some with me quite willingly. After we finished reading it we discussed what would happen to the trees in our yard if someone cut them all down including the Lisa of shade, habitats, and more. It really touched her. Then we watched the movie borrowed from our public library. Both girls commented on what they'd seen in the book as it was portrayed on the movie. Even the three year old said they had cut just too much. For us, even with the use of nonsense words it did well to introduce ecology and the purpose of trees and the desire to promote preservation.

We own a treasury that includes this book.

The Lorax has always been one of my favorite children's literature books. It is funny and entertaining and Dr. Seuss always has the best illustrations. However this particular book has always stuck out to me as my favorite. It describes the story of the once selfish Onceler, who stumbled upon the Lorax and began chopping down all his trees. He made a clothing factory and used up all the resources around it to get rich, not caring one bit about the Lorax or the other animals nearby. Soon, the Lorax has to get up and leave, because he can no longer live there. The message of this book is one that is simple enough for children to understand, but important enough for them to want to change something in their lives. I remember, after reading this book and learning the message about taking care of the environment and not being selfish about the way we treat our planet and the people who live on it, I went on a craze to try to economize as much water as I could. I would use as thin a stream of water as I could when washing my hands, I would turn the faucet off when brushing my teeth, and I would even shut the main water switch in my house off if I thought that my dad was taking too long in the shower. This book helped shape me and the ideals that I have today, and I'm sure any child who reads it would still be influenced.