Genre – ILLUSTRATED/PICTURE BOOKSummary - This well-known story is narrated by a little boy who visits a man names the Once-ler. The Once-ler explains the story of the Lorax and the forest of Truffola Trees. The book tells the sad story of how a little factory of ‘thneeds’ came into the forest and continued to grow, cutting down and clearing the land where the Truffola trees stood. The creature called the Lorax tries to save the forest and explain why it is wrong to cut down the trees. The factory continues to grow until the entire forest can been cut down. At the very end, the Once-ler gives the little boy the only remaining Truffola tree seed to plant and rebuild the forest.
Teaching Points – This wonderful book can be used across the curriculum. The Lorax can be used in social studies to discuss topics such as greed, disrespect, and the idea of being rude vs. being polite. In addition, this book can be used to discuss context clues and understanding vocabulary, since Dr. Seuss used imaginary words in most of his books. But, for the topic of human effects on the earth, this book can be used to discuss the big idea of how cutting down trees and deforestation can affect all sorts of life forms, including animals, vegetation, and long-term effects on future generations. Because of the fact that this book expresses the importance of trees, students can research different kinds of trees and create a presentation about the tree, and what life forms would be affected and how the environment would suffer if these trees were to all be cut down, like the Truffola trees were.
Suggested Reading Level –Grade 1-5
Additional Resources – There is a great resource that can be used alongside this book on the official Dr. Seuss website. Dr. Seuss has created “The Lorax Project” which is a movement to help children learn about the environment and do things to help preserve nature to the best of their ability. This website provides facts, ideas, games, activities, and a pledge that students can sign to promise to help keep the earth healthy by doing things themselves. This website is very kid-friendly and is a great resource for teachers to use with this book!
Citation – Dr. Seuss. (1971). The lorax. Random House.
ISBN-10: 0394823370 / ISBN-13: 978-0394823379
