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The Lorax

Name: The Lorax
Author: Dr. Seuss
ISBN: 9780394823379

by Dr. Seuss

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Overview

Before "going green" was mainstream, Dr. Seuss warned against the dangers of not treating the environment with care and respect in his story, The Lorax. With the release of the blockbuster film version, the Lorax and his classic tale have educated a new generation of young readers about the importance of not only seeing the beauty in the world around us, but also about our responsibility to protect it.

"The big, colorful pictures and the fun images, word plays and rhymes make this an amusing exposition of the ecology crisis."—School Library Journal.

The Once-ler describes the results of the local pollution problem.

Synopsis

He's shortish.
And oldish...
And brownish. And mossy...
And he spoke with a voice...
that was sharpish and bossy.

"The big, colorful pictures and the fun images, word plays and rhymes make this an amusing exposition of the ecology crisis."—School Library Journal. Illus. in full color.

Children's Literature

In this classic story, the Once-ler describes how his greedy actions destroyed a beautiful and thriving environment. Children will enjoy the colorful characters and rhyming verse and adults will appreciate the subtle messages about the negative effects of deforestation, habitat destruction, and air and water pollution.

About the Author, Dr. Seuss

It s difficult to imagine the children s book landscape without Dr. Seuss, who is, almost half a century after The Cat in the Hat, the best-recognized children s book writer in the country. But until Dr. Seuss -- a.k.a. Theodor Seuss Geisel -- reinvented the genre with his colorful and exuberant Sneetches, Grinches, Zaxes, and Zooks, children s books were often little more than literal-minded lessons and cautionary tales intended to transform young readers into productive citizens.

Reviews

Penny Follow

22 hours ago

Curling up with The Lorax never gets old, even as a grown-up reader who usually gravitates toward thicker tomes. Dr. Seuss packs an enormous environmental message into a deceptively simple, rhyming tale: a businessman called the Once-ler arrives in a lush, whimsical landscape full of Truffula Trees and the creatures who depend on them, and his relentless ambition gradually strips the place bare.

The Lorax himself, that mustachioed little guardian who "speaks for the trees," is one of the most memorable advocates in children's literature - gruff, exasperated, and ultimately heartbreaking when his warnings go unheeded. What I love is how Seuss never lectures; he lets the consequences of greed unfold in vivid, slightly absurd imagery that lodges itself in a child's imagination far more effectively than any sermon could.

For young readers, the lesson lands beautifully because it's hopeful rather than hectoring. The book doesn't just say "don't chop down trees" - it asks children to consider what we owe the world around us, and crucially, it ends with a single seed and the famous reminder that change depends on whether someone cares "a whole awful lot." That's a powerful idea to plant in a kid's head: that individual action matters, that nature is worth defending, and that the future is something we actively shape rather than passively inherit. It's a small book with an enormous heart.

Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

Dr. Seuss, pseudonym for Theodor Seuss Geisel, is world renowned for his inventiveness and wit. His stories are instantly recognizable by their use of fantastic words, clever rhymes, and unusual creatures-drawn in his distinctive style.