While we leave the book with a kernel of hope provided by the seed, and the boy representing the next generation, we simply do not know at the end whether everything will turn out all right.Īs for the writing, I love the Seussian style. Of course, this is a cautionary tale, which leads to something you don’t often see in children’s books-the hero of the story loses. And, what I especially adore is that the Lorax is not always right, especially about what people might really want. And, for the most part, the Lorax does not hold any physical power. I found it interesting that the Lorax is not painted as an especially kind, tolerant, or forgiving person. Then the use of flashback to contrast the drab present with the idyllic past is wonderful in both language and, especially, artwork.
Not many children’s books are willing to start in a dark and dreary world, seemingly without hope. First is the fact that it is truly a dystopian tale. What I love about this book is some of the conventions it uses.
#Questions to ask kids when they watch the lorax movie
Indeed, given Fox News lambasted The Muppets film of being in league with the communists for daring to use an oil company as the bad guy (check out the great Muppet reaction here), I can only imagine what they’ll do when this movie comes out. If Mary Norton used a chisel to craft an allegorical tale of class in English society with The Borrowers, Seuss uses an atomic-powered sledge hammer to tell his cautionary tale of corporate greed and environmental destruction. He leaves only a stone circle marked with the word “Unless.” The Once-ler only learns in telling the story to the boy that “Unless” means that the town is doomed unless there is someone who cares enough to try and save it, and in seeing the boy standing on that stone circle, gives him the very last Truffula seed, urging him to begin again. Finally, after cutting down the very last Truffula, the Lorax dejectedly leaves the husk of this town, now devoid of all the life that made it wonderful. Money rolls in, and so does the pollution from the expanding Thneed factory. The Once-ler refuses to listen, and expands his business as the Lorax protests. The soft, silky tufts of the Truffulas were perfect for the Once-ler to make Theeds (think Snuggie), but when he started to chop them down, up pops the little Lorax-he speaks for the trees. Where Swomee-Swans sang, Brown Bar-ba-loots frisked, and Humming fish hummed in harmony with nature. This may be your child’s first introduction to the concept of “dystopian” as an unnamed boy heads to the gray and decaying outskirts of town to speak with a faceless shut in known as the “Once-ler.”Īfter paying the requisite fee in coins, nails, and snails, the Once-ler tells a story of a time when the town wasn’t filled with tufts of black Grickle Grass, but instead filled with the pink, red, yellow, orange and lavender tufts of the Truffula Trees.
I got mine as part of the “Six by Seuss” collection which runs in the $10-20 range. The book goes for between $5-10 and is available from multiple sources.
There’s a great dramatic reading, complete with the artwork on YouTube. I would say this is a read-to-child book until roughly the 2nd to 3rd grade reading level.Īn interactive version of the book available as an app on iTunes for $3.99. Some of his made up words may be confusing, and this is by no means “Hop on Pop” or one of his early reader books. Seuss has no issue with reinventing grammar and language. Those with early readers, do beware, however. Two months to the two thousand year old man. UPDATE: You can find my review of The Lorax film here. And The Lorax is about as timeless as it gets, not to mention as timely as ever. Combine that sensibility with a willingness to be silly and creative with rhyme, meter, and language itself-not to mention the iconic artwork-and you have a recipe for something timeless. Seuss Goes to War for more on that- here are a lot of the cartoons you could find in the book courtesy of UCSD as well). His unabashed sense of activism, which came from his history as a political cartoonist (check out the book Dr.
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