The Lorax

by Dr. Seuss and Dr Seuss

Book Overview

Celebrate Earth Day with Dr. Seuss and the Lorax in this classic picture book about sustainability and protecting the environment!

I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.

Dr. Seuss's beloved story teaches kids to treat the planet with kindness and stand up and speak up for others. Experience the beauty of the Truffula Trees and the danger of taking our earth for granted in a story that is timely, playful, and hopeful. The book's final pages teach us that just one small seed, or one small child, can make a difference.

Printed on recycled paper, this book is the perfect gift for Earth Day and for any child--or child at heart--who is interested in recycling, advocacy, and the environment, or just loves nature and playing outside.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394823370
• ISBN13: 9780394823379
• Release Date: August 1971
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.5" x 11.0"
• Age Range: 5 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 4

Customer Reviews

Childhood Favorite

One of my favorite stories. I loved sharing it with my daughter. Book was in the advertised condition

Ad to List of Banned Books

This should be added to the list of banned books. It is banned in public schools throughout logging country in the Pacific Northwest. It's a mandatory read for these troubled times.

The Lorax: a lesson

Dr. Seuss’ vision/guide/warning for readers to take care of this world. There is no other, you know.

My son absolutely loves Dr. Suess

I think almost any child would love the unique and quirky world of Dr. Suess. Love how thebwords rhyme and flow. My son absolutely loves Dr. Siess especially green eggs and ham and fox in sox

The best!

Loved it as a kid and now read it for "Nature Writing" in college.

Seuss's eco-fable

The good doctor has always been one for a message, and this one comes through with uncommon bluntness: it's pretty easy to screw up the environment, and you get plenty of warning before it's too late. Anyone sufficently blinded by greed will just go ahead, though, until they ruin everything - even the sources of their own wealth. Here, in the America of Pres. Bush II, the issues are even more vivid than they were 35 years ago when this was written. Maybe your kid will get the message. One can only hope. //wiredweird

The Lorax - Still Powerful After 30 Years

Children used to Dr. Seuss' lighthearted, whimsical stories filled with wacky names and places will undoubtedly perceive a vast difference with "The Lorax". It still contains the wacky names, places, and rhymes, so characteristic of Seuss, but with one blatant overtone. This story goes all out to show the devestating consequences of human greed, and what can happen to the environment when humans misuse and take advantage of nature and natural resources.The story begins when a boy comes to the home of a peculair creature called Once-ler. The boy wants to know about something called the Lorax; "what it was", and "why it was there". After paying the Once-ler a small fee, he narrates the story for the boy. The pictures incorperated into the story are also poignant; for, as we see in the beginning, the small town in which the Once-ler lives is very grey and barren.However, as the Once-ler begins his story, the pictures become brighter, more cheerful, and colorful, as we see how the town once looked, long, long ago. There were animals, birds, green grass ... and trees!The Once-ler says, "I came to this glorious place. And I first saw the trees. The Truffula trees". Transfixed by these trees, the Once-ler cuts one down to make a "Thneed". Now, a Thneed is supposed to be a useful thing, which people can find many uses for. Shortly after the first tree is cut down, the Lorax appears. He explains that he talks on behalf of the trees, because the trees cannot talk for themselves. "They have no tongues".The Lorax is very upset at what the Once-ler has done. But the Once-ler ignores him, and continues to cut down the trees to make Thneeds, until all the trees have been cut down. This action, of cutting down the trees, building a factory to make the thneeds, and releasing waste residue into the water is greatly illustrated in the pictures, showing the cause and effect of polluting the environment.Eventually the pictures return to the grey, morbid colors we see in the beginning. The Lorax has had to make all the birds, animals and fish leave the town before they die of hunger and starvation, and before they choke to death on all the smog generated by the Once-ler's factory.As we can clearly see in "The Lorax", Dr. Seuss is making a very defined political statement about how humans have manipulated and destroyed our natural surroundings for their own personal greed. "The Lorax" was written in 1971, in the hayday of environmental activism, and one year after the first Earth Day.Still, Dr. Suess does not make this story into a gloomy one. He gives us hope. The Once-ler tosses down a seed to the boy; the one last remaining Truffula seed. With this one seed, Dr. Seuss tells us the possiblities are endless, and hope is not lost.

Is this book Dangerous? A Review of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax

Dr. Seuss's The Lorax is a fantastic story by one of the most lovable, creative children's books authors ever. In the story, Seuss presents a statement concerning the environment in his own original way. Of course, the book would not be complete without those witty rhymes and colorful illustrations. The Lorax "speaks for the trees" and tries to save the Truffula trees from the greedy Once-ler. The Lorax protects the trees and all the creatures that inhabit them. When the Once-ler comes and desires to cut down the Truffula trees, the Lorax tries to stop him, but he fails. The Once-ler cuts down every last Truffula tree, pollutes the environment, and drives all the creatures, including the Lorax, off the land. The story does end on a positive note, but to learn what it is, you must read the book for yourself. Because The Lorax was first published in 1971, it is easy to believe that the story is referring directly to the environmental movement of the 1960's. The story clearly illustrates the themes of conservation, love, and respect for the land. The author grabs the reader's attention in the beginning of the story by starting in the future and then narrating the past. The reader sees the death and bareness of the land first and then learns the causes for the current state of the environment. Seuss approaches the subject in a blunt and obvious critique of the methods used to strip resources from the land. This story sends a simple, yet powerful statement about the world in which we live. Because of the book's strong message concerning the environment (clear-cutting forests in particular,) this children's book has found itself on the Banned Books List. The reason is simple. Several logging companies feel threatened by the book and its message. They are afraid of people reading the book and making the great discovery that clear-cutting is bad for the environment! I believe that if this book has been placed on the Banned Book List, then the goal of the story has been achieved. The entire purpose of this book was not just to make kids laugh but to point out that clear-cutting is a serious problem. We, as humans, are trashing the environment. Sometimes the message is the most effective when it is reduced to its simplest form. In the future, this problem will rest in the hands of our children and educating children will help them make better choices than previous generations have.

A Lorax Review: in Rhyme

12 years ago at the old age of eight, I received this book and found it quite great! My parents had read me of this and of that, of Berenstein Bears and a Cat in a Hat. This book in itself makes quite a statement, sounding nothing quite like a drawn-out old lament. The story involved something unlike you or me, a being called a Once-ler, who we never do see. He tells his story from a boarded old store, and will not answer you if you knock at his door. But for the right price, he'll tell you the tale, and here is that story, in some minor detail: While travelling across lands and seas, the old once-ler found the Truffula trees. When he chopped down one tree there was a loud thump, and the Lorax appeared right out of that stump. He warned the Once-ler of what he was for, but the Once-ler didn't listen and thought him a bore. With cutting down trees, was born a Thneed, a so-called "Fine thing that all people need." The Once-ler made many, and money to spare, but his doing caused many to sadly despair. He polluted the air, he gummed up the pond, he cut down the trees til they soon were all gone. A sad story yes, but sad is to say, such examples of Once-lers can be found today. Dr. Seuss wrote this story out of will and good faith, but unless we heed it's warning, it may be too late. -Michael Howe, 11/10/00

A Serious Message in Classic Suess Style

I grew up on Dr. Suess books(I even learned to read with one), and I think he is one of the greatest children's authors ever. His hypnotic phrasing and wonderful illustrations are enough to delight children and adults as well (my brothers and I still enjoy looking through our old Suess favorites). In my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to go with two other classmates to a local elementary school on a weekly basis to teach basic lessons on honesty, friendship, etc. When we taught our lesson on the environment, I brought "The Lorax" to read to the class. To my surprise, when I asked who in the class had read the story, only three out of the 28 students had. Many looked skeptical, thinking it was a little kid's book, but once I started reading, the entire class was mesmerized. After I was finished with the story, we had the most lively question-and-answer session that we had ever had-the story really hit home with the kids and brought our planet'! s ecological crisis into terms that they could understand. Afterward, many of the children asked where they could get a copy of "The Lorax". Thank you to Dr. Suess for a masterpiece of children's literature!