Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this tale, told in Dr. Seuss' trademark rhymes, is a good introduction to environmental awareness.
Families can talk about natural resources. What are they? How did the creatures use them? Why do you think they all got used up? What would have been a better way for them to live? Do you think this happens in our world? Is there anything you and your family can do to conserve resources and be nicer to the Earth?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Robyn Raymer
Few fiction writers -- for children or adults -- have successfully melded politics and good storytelling. Dr. Seuss succeeds here by explaining simply and clearly the process of building an industry at the expense of an ecosystem. The book is an excellent teaching tool, but despite its humor it isn't the most enjoyable of Dr. Seuss' works. Of course, environmental devastation isn't a cheerful topic.
Unfortunately, the idyllic scenes in which the Brown Bar-ba-loots frolic under the furry-lollipop tufts of the Truffula Trees while the Swomee-Swans sing and the Humming-Fish hum are ... well, boring.
It's much more fun to visit the Once-ler's Thneed factory and investigate tubs bubbling over with Gluppity-Glupp and Schloppity-Schlopp. It's much more intriguing to track the mysterious green-armed villain to his Lerkim, where he makes his own clothes out of "miff-muffered moof" and whispers to visitors through a "snergelly hose."
Luckily, the pint-sized hero is quirky enough to be compelling. Shaped like a furry potato with arms and legs, the bushy-mustachioed Lorax has a folksy, righteous manner. He's a guilt mongerer for a good cause, and his harangues against the unrepentant Once-ler are both funny and poignant.
After listening to a reading of THE LORAX, one 6-year-old drew a detailed retelling featuring a pterodactyl-sized Swomee-Swan and a huge ax poised ominously over a vulnerable Truffula Tree. The caption read, "Everybody was having fun when the bad guy came who cut down the trees."
Plot Summary:
When his beloved Truffula Trees are hacked down to make Thneeds ("which everyone needs" -- supposedly), the mustachioed little Lorax protests angrily. Unfortunately, the potato-shaped crusader's gripes are in vain. The greedy industrialist Once-ler won't stop until the last Truffula is felled and the surrounding ecosystem is hopelessly polluted. This Seussian fable has become an environmentalist classic.
Related Books:
Seuss co-produced an award-winning animated video version of the book. His The Butter Battle Book skewers the arms race.
Rate It!
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ViolenceSmall children may be scared by the faceless, green-armed Once-ler and his dilapidated home. An entire ecosystem is wiped out. |
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Social BehaviorThe Once-ler and his family use up a community's natural resources and pollute its air and water. |
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