sign in| help
Search advanced search
 
Books
Search:
x dismiss this message

Did you know you can edit this page?

The Lorax
  • Rated 0 stars

The Lorax (1971) (edit title/settings)

by Dr. Seuss (Author) (edit contributors)

Share this book on:
see page history

Description edit see section history

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

An amazing story about being environmentally aware and the consequences that could come from mistreating the earth.

read more

Summary edit see section history

A boy goes to see the Once-ler who tells the story of how he came to town and the Lorax. When the Once-ler first arrives he finds that the Truffula trees leaves foliage can be knitted into a gament called a thneed. He convinces everyone that a thneed is something everyone needs. The story... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

A boy goes to see the Once-ler who tells the story of how he came to town and the Lorax. When the Once-ler first arrives he finds that the Truffula trees leaves foliage can be knitted into a gament called a thneed. He convinces everyone that a thneed is something everyone needs. The story progresses as the Once-ler's business grows and he needs to keep cutting Truffula trees to sustain his factory. Then the Lorax enters and pleads with the Once-ler on behalf of all the animals and trees.

The Once-ler shows little remorse and ignores the Lorax's pleas. Eventually all the trees are gone, the factory closes, and the Once-ler's family leaves and only the Once-ler and the Lorax are left. The Lorax looks sad and leaves the Once-ler alone with a pile of rocks with the word "Unless" written on them. The Once-ler begins to feel remorseful, and at the end gives the boy a Truffula tree seed and instructs him to care or it in the hopes that the forest and animals will come back, and maybe the Lorax, too.

Characters edit see section history

  • The Onceler: Once he was an ambitious inventor who created a thing called a "thneed" from the tufts of the lovely truffula trees. He represents industrialism without forethought, exploiting the land with no regard to the consequences.
  • The Lorax: He speaks for the trees, for the trees have no tongues. He represents environmentalism, in some cases overzealous or radical environmentalism.
  • The Boy: He represents the reader, who hopefully will learn from the story.
Popular Covers

Loading covers…

Choose your book’s cover

Quotes edit see section history

  • “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,Nothing's going to get better. It's not.”
    The Onceler

First Sentence edit see section history

At the far end of town where the Grickle-grass grows and the wind smells slow-and-sour when it blows and no birds ever sing excepting old crows... is the Street of the Lifted Lorax.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Environmentalism: The book is an obvious metaphor for industrialism versus the environment. The thneed factory keeps getting larger and destroys the forest to maintain growing production while the inhabitants of the forest must leave because of the lack of resources and increase in disease that the factory has caused.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Books to Read on Earth Day. (community list)
This book is in Dr. Seuss Classics. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Dr. Seuss (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Random House
Country: United States
Publication Date: 1971
ISBN: 0394823370
Page Count: 70

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ8.3.G276 Lo
  • Dewey: 811

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 4-8

A very easy to read book. This book takes a look at how industry can ruin ecosystems. The book may be a little radical at times, but it shows how industry can destroy the environment if left unchecked. Animals get diseases, food is depleted, and the environment becomes uninhabitable, causing the life in the area to leave.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

Movie Connections edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Giving Tree
  • TRUAX by Terri Birkett (1994 Softcover 20 page booklet. Written in the same style as Dr. Seuss' LORAX, TRUAX is published as a defense of logging trees.)
  • Once There Was a Tree
  • Baby Coyote and the Old Woman / El Coyotito y la Viejita
  • The Great Kapok Tree
  • The Old Ladies Who Liked Cats
  • Oh, the Places You'll Go!
  • One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
  • Green Eggs and Ham

We’re hiding the settings, organizations, table of contents, glossary entries, errata, awards, books with additional background information, books that influenced this book, books influenced by this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.

© 2006-2012 Shelfari | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy

Close